LPL Financial LLC Purchases 5,990 Shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150,178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,990 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.12% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PDM. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 14,932,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,011,000 after buying an additional 2,020,595 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $16,164,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 390.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,887,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,757 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 51.4% during the 1st quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 3,344,859 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,776 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,984,218 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,195,000 after purchasing an additional 788,453 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 13th.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Performance

Piedmont Office Realty Trust stock opened at $6.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.91 and a 1 year high of $11.37. The company has a market cap of $763.31 million, a PE ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.47.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.10%. Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 113.64%.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Profile

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, redeveloper, and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in major U.S. Sunbelt markets. Its approximately $5 billion portfolio is currently comprised of approximately 17 million square feet. The Company is a fully integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) with local management offices in each of its markets and is investment-grade rated by S&P Global Ratings (BBB) and Moody's (Baa2).