Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 39,622 Shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Free Report) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,424 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 39,622 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust worth $992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 51.3% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.48% of the company's stock.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $6.56. 607,033 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 831,571. The company has a market capitalization of $816.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.42 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.22. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.81 and a 52-week high of $11.12.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 4.82% and a negative net margin of 13.86%. The company had revenue of $143.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.16 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 EPS for the current year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on PDM shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Piedmont Office Realty Trust from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 17th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 target price (down from $11.00) on shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded 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 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.