Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $1.31 Million Investment in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 143,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.12% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDM. Helix Partners Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $6,405,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,719,332 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,882,000 after acquiring an additional 699,339 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,106,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,106,859 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,278,000 after buying an additional 546,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,534,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,501,000 after acquiring an additional 478,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Piedmont Office Realty Trust

In related news, CFO Sherry L. Rexroad purchased 16,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.95 per share, for a total transaction of $100,257.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,257.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.29% of the company’s stock.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Up 5.7 %

PDM stock opened at $6.64 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $6.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $826.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.54 and a beta of 1.21. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.46 and a fifty-two week high of $11.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $136.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.29 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 13.86% and a negative return on equity of 4.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.53%. Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently -102.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PDM shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Piedmont Office Realty Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Baird R W cut shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Company Profile

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc (also referred to herein as "Piedmont" or the "Company") (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. 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 Standard & Poor's and Moody's.