Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) and Two REITs Register Noteworthy Insider Selling amid Post-Brexit Rally

Office REIT See Executive Offload Some Shares

Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE:HIW) saw one member of its executive team sell some shares earlier this week. Jeffrey Douglas Miller, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, discarded 10,000 shares on Tuesday at $51.39 apiece and 2,000 shares on Wednesday for $51.80 each. Following the recent transactions, Mr. Miller continues to own 66,115 shares.

The real estate investment trust that leases and manages office buildings primarily in the best business districts of Atlanta, Greensboro, Memphis, Nashville, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa has seen its shares appreciate by 21% since the beginning of 2016. In fact, the shares of Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE:HIW) are currently trading near their 52-week high of $52.86 a share, which explains the recent insider selling at the company. The REIT owned or had an interest in 31.2 million rentable square feet of in-service properties at the end of March, as well as 1.3 million rentable square feet of properties under development. The occupancy in the REIT’s office portfolio dropped to 92.2% at the end of March from 92.6% recorded at the end of December.

The REIT paid a cash dividend of $0.425 per share for the March quarter, which equates to an annual dividend of $1.70 per share and an annual dividend yield of 3.22%. There were six money managers from our system invested in Highwood Properties at the end of the March quarter, who hoarded up 2% of the company’s outstanding shares. Greg Poole’s Echo Street Capital Management added a 141,090-share position in Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE:HIW) to its portfolio during the first quarter of 2016.

Residential REIT Also Registers Notable Insider Selling

Apartment Investment and Management Co (NYSE:AIV) was yet another REIT that registered noteworthy insider selling this week. Patti K. Fielding, Executive Vice President of Securities and Debt, sold 10,000 Class A shares on Wednesday at a price tag of $43.00 a share. After the recent sale, Mr. Fielding continues to own 20,923 Class A shares.

The REIT focuses on owning and managing apartment communities located in large coastal and job growth markets in the United States. At the end of March, Apartment Investment and Management Co (NYSE:AIV)’s conventional portfolio comprised 139 apartment communities with 40,376 apartment homes. Aimco’s shares have gained 10% so far in 2016. The REIT’s conventional portfolio average revenue per effective apartment home was $1,864 for the first three months of 2016, up 9% year-over-year. The increase was partially driven by the sale of apartment communities that generated average revenues per effective apartment home massively lower than those of the current portfolio. Aimco sold one conventional apartment community with 96 apartment homes during the first quarter of 2016 for $10.0 million. The REIT also agreed to acquire a 463-home apartment community under construction in Northern California for $320 million.

The hedge fund sentiment towards the residential REIT increased during the January-to-March quarter, as the number of funds from our system with stakes in Aimco rose to 18 from 13 quarter-over-quarter. Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors LLC owned 314,000 shares of Apartment Investment and Management Co (NYSE:AIV) at the end of the first quarter.

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