Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its position in Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 171,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,658 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $4,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,781,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,722,000 after purchasing an additional 916,508 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 4,499,289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,558,000 after purchasing an additional 203,356 shares during the period. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth $32,105,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cousins Properties by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 282,579 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,881,000 after purchasing an additional 122,876 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cousins Properties during the fourth quarter worth $896,000. 94.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Cousins Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Cousins Properties from $29.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.67.

Insider Transactions at Cousins Properties

In related news, CFO Gregg D. Adzema sold 71,097 shares of Cousins Properties stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.31, for a total transaction of $1,657,271.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 85,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,001,676.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Cousins Properties Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:CUZ opened at $22.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 46.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $25.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.21.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $209.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.35 million. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.62% and a net margin of 9.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 261.22%.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets.