Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Has $953,000 Stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lowered its stake in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) by 15.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,400 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HIW. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Highwoods Properties by 1.1% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 160,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,870,000 after buying an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,553,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,269,000 after buying an additional 328,320 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Highwoods Properties during the first quarter worth about $255,000. Credit Suisse AG boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 9.3% in the first quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 446,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,950,000 after buying an additional 37,953 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 260.5% in the first quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 17,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 12,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.90% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW) traded down 0.75% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.54. The stock had a trading volume of 685,408 shares. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.07 and a 200-day moving average of $50.83. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.30 and a beta of 0.88. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.83 and a 12-month high of $55.13.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.59. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 18.79% and a return on equity of 5.96%. The company had revenue of $177.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties, Inc. will post $1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. Highwoods Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 141.94%.

A number of analysts have weighed in on HIW shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. ValuEngine raised Highwoods Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. Finally, BidaskClub raised Highwoods Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.00.

In other news, COO Theodore J. Klinck sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.51, for a total value of $525,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 63,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,318,316.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

About Highwoods Properties

Highwoods Properties, Inc is an office real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company’s primary business is the operation, acquisition and development of office properties. The Company’s segments include Office and Other. The Company owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Greensboro, Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.