Affinity Investment Advisors LLC Sells 20,990 Shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) by 43.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 20,990 shares during the period. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust were worth $197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 261.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 114,674 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 82,915 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 50,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 8,216 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 70,547 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 14,355 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 111,623 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 41,049 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 776.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 103,852 shares during the period. 84.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PDM traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 262,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 834,661. The firm has a market capitalization of $883.34 million, a PE ratio of -11.87 and a beta of 1.14. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.91 and a twelve month high of $8.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.75 and a 200 day moving average of $6.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $144.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $143.41 million. Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 4.29% and a negative net margin of 12.90%. On average, equities analysts expect that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.01%. Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -81.97%.

Piedmont Office 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.