Marshall Wace LLP Grows Holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM - Free Report) by 41.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,531,458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 451,043 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 1.24% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust worth $14,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 809.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.48% of the company's stock.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Price Performance

NYSE PDM traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.79. The stock had a trading volume of 524,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 835,017. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.81 and a twelve month high of $11.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 2.22. The firm's 50 day moving average is $7.00 and its 200 day moving average is $8.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $844.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.78 and a beta of 1.21.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37. The company had revenue of $143.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.16 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 4.82% and a negative net margin of 13.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Piedmont Office Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently -79.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price target (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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.

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.