Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in shares of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,147,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 78,986 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Cousins Properties were worth $35,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 1,609.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 923 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Cousins Properties by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cousins Properties by 473.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 3,551 shares in the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in Cousins Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $142,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cousins Properties by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,995 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. 94.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cousins Properties Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CUZ opened at $26.08 on Friday. Cousins Properties Incorporated has a 12 month low of $21.58 and a 12 month high of $32.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 86.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.24.

Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.62. Cousins Properties had a return on equity of 1.00% and a net margin of 5.36%. Equities analysts forecast that Cousins Properties Incorporated will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cousins Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Cousins Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 426.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CUZ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised Cousins Properties from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Cousins Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Cousins Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Cousins Properties from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Cousins Properties from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cousins Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.70.

About Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Incorporated ("Cousins") is a fully integrated, self-administered, and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company, based in Atlanta and acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets.