Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) Shares Acquired by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Free Report) by 109.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 580,059 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 302,859 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.47% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust worth $4,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $71,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $94,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $89,000. 84.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Price Performance

Piedmont Office Realty Trust stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $7.15. The company had a trading volume of 339,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 844,589. The company has a market capitalization of $885.81 million, a P/E ratio of -11.72 and a beta of 1.14. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.91 and a 12-month high of $8.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $6.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.61). The company had revenue of $144.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $143.41 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 12.90% and a negative return on equity of 4.29%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. Piedmont Office Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -81.97%.

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 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.