McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. Takes $155,000 Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $155,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Highwoods Properties in the third quarter worth $48,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 worth $93,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew 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 worth $108,000 after buying an additional 2,350 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in 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 valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.31% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HIW opened at $28.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.60 and a 12 month high of $36.78.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.85. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 17.40% and a return on equity of 6.05%. As a group, analysts predict that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.01%. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is 149.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.