Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. $HIW

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 6.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 77,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,563 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $2,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HIW. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties during the second quarter valued at approximately $300,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 28.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 3,613 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 38,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 9,910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

HIW opened at $28.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.18 and a 12-month high of $33.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.34.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 5.48%. The company had revenue of $201.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. New Street Research set a $30.00 target price on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Highwoods Properties presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David John Hartzell sold 4,300 shares of Highwoods Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total transaction of $138,030.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,396.90. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW), fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.