Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 395,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 20,315 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Highwoods Properties worth $9,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HIW. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 62,902 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,504,000 after buying an additional 16,227 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter worth $454,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 4,598 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Highwoods Properties by 141.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 54,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 32,230 shares during the period. Finally, Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in Highwoods Properties during the 1st quarter worth $868,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE HIW opened at $18.84 on Tuesday. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a one year low of $17.06 and a one year high of $31.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.21.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 20th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 17th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HIW shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $31.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Highwoods Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Highwoods Properties from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, November 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

Highwoods Properties 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.