Fifth Third Bancorp Lowers Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,865 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 269.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 55.8% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 35.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of HIW stock opened at $29.73 on Friday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.46 and a twelve month high of $36.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19 and a beta of 1.24.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 149.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.86.

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.