KBC Group NV Raises Stock Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 2,499.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 90,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 87,124 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $2,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Highwoods Properties by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Highwoods Properties by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $822,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Highwoods Properties by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 70,906 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,168,000 after acquiring an additional 3,362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on HIW shares. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Highwoods Properties from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.86.

Highwoods Properties Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of HIW opened at $29.73 on Friday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.46 and a fifty-two week high of $36.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $30.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.60. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is currently 149.25%.

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.