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

Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,616,526 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 148,280 shares during the quarter. Piedmont Office Realty Trust comprises about 1.3% of Private Management Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Private Management Group Inc. owned 3.73% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust worth $32,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 341.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 64,202 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 49,674 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 13.8% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. RFG Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $420,000. Accel Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the third quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $171,000. 84.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of PDM traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.97. 599,575 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 889,719. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $863.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.42 and a beta of 1.15. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.91 and a 1 year high of $8.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $6.50 and its 200-day moving average is $6.46.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.65). The business had revenue of $145.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $146.37 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 8.38% and a negative return on equity of 2.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Piedmont Office Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -125.00%.

About Piedmont Office Realty Trust

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.

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