Vestcor Inc Sells 97,205 Shares of Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc significantly reduced its holdings in Piedmont Realty Trust, selling 97,205 shares, which represents an 87.2% decrease in its position.
• Piedmont Realty Trust's stock price rose by 1.2% to reach $7.71, with a trading volume of 1,641,245 shares, surpassing its average volume.
• Recent analyst ratings show one sell, three hold, and one buy rating, with the average target price set at $8.67.

Vestcor Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Free Report) by 87.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,309 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 97,205 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Piedmont Realty Trust were worth $105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PDM. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust by 809.2% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,520 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Piedmont Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Piedmont Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PDM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Piedmont Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Piedmont Realty Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $8.67.

Piedmont Realty Trust Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of PDM stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.54. 332,409 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 968,706. Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.46 and a 12 month high of $11.11. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $7.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.30. The stock has a market cap of $938.14 million, a PE ratio of -13.70 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. Piedmont Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 12.10% and a negative return on equity of 4.32%. The business had revenue of $111.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $141.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Piedmont Realty Trust's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Piedmont 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.