Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $11.54 Million Position in Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Highwoods Properties, Inc. (NYSE:HIW – Get Rating) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 412,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 35,006 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Highwoods Properties were worth $11,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 103,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,799,000 after buying an additional 7,050 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 73.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,854 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,058,000 after buying an additional 28,734 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 1,627 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 14.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,690,000 after buying an additional 17,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.57% of the company’s stock.

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of HIW opened at $20.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $22.01 and its 200-day moving average is $26.12. Highwoods Properties, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.45 and a fifty-two week high of $39.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Highwoods Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 22nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 19th. Highwoods Properties’s payout ratio is presently 132.45%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Theodore J. Klinck acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.81 per share, with a total value of $99,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 337,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,679,476.37. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HIW has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $34.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 31st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.71.

About Highwoods Properties

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Highwoods Properties, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in the operation, acquisition and development of rental office properties. It operates through the following geographical segments: Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa. The company was founded by Ronald P.