Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) by 72.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,233 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.12% of Piedmont Office Realty Trust worth $1,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PDM. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 34.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $76,000. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.48% of the company’s stock.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Stock Down 1.5 %

PDM opened at $8.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.21 and a beta of 1.20. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $5.93 and a one year high of $11.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 2.22.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.46). Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 4.61% and a negative net margin of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $139.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $143.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Piedmont Office Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -80.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Piedmont Office Realty Trust from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

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.