Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 98,589 Shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) by 55.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 276,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,589 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust were worth $2,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PDM. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 25,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 14,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 227,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.48% of the company’s stock.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of PDM opened at $6.56 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $7.11 and its 200 day moving average is $8.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.81 and a 12-month high of $11.12. The company has a market capitalization of $816.37 million, a PE ratio of -10.42 and a beta of 1.21.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.37. The firm had revenue of $143.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.16 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 13.86% and a negative return on equity of 4.82%. Research analysts expect that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.62%. Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s payout ratio is -79.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PDM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust 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.