Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 12,000 Shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 74.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HIW. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 17.7% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 52,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 7,930 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 23,918 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $965,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 11.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 4.5% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 180,253 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,715,000 after buying an additional 7,827 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HIW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Highwoods Properties from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.38.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

HIW opened at $26.30 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.41. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.06 and a 52-week high of $26.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56 and a beta of 1.23.

Highwoods Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is presently 163.93%.

About Highwoods Properties

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.