Private Management Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

Key Points

• Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Piedmont Realty Trust by 4.1%, owning over 4 million shares valued at approximately $30 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Piedmont Realty Trust reported a quarterly EPS of $0.36, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, though revenue decreased by 1.3% year-over-year to $136.06 million.
• Insider buying activity was noted as CFO Sherry L. Rexroad purchased shares at an average price of $5.95 each, significantly boosting her ownership in the company.

Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,074,332 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 160,453 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc. owned about 3.27% of Piedmont Realty Trust worth $30,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PDM. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Piedmont Realty Trust by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 22,803 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Piedmont Realty Trust by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 36,489 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 1,479 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Piedmont Realty Trust by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Piedmont Realty Trust by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Piedmont Realty Trust by 809.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on PDM shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Piedmont Realty Trust from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 directly owned 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. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Piedmont Realty Trust Stock Up 4.9%

NYSE:PDM traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $7.84. The stock had a trading volume of 380,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 958,609. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.34. The company has a market capitalization of $974.75 million, a PE ratio of -15.98 and a beta of 1.43. Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.46 and a twelve month high of $11.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Piedmont Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $111.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $141.96 million. Piedmont Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 10.80% and a negative return on equity of 3.82%. The firm's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Piedmont Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Piedmont 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.