Merit Financial Group LLC Lowers Position in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM)

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its stake in Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,737 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,137 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Piedmont Office Realty Trust were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PDM. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $74,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Piedmont Office Realty Trust by 20.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 2,808 shares during the last quarter. 84.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Price Performance

PDM opened at $6.96 on Wednesday. Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.91 and a fifty-two week high of $8.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.58 and a 200 day moving average of $6.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $861.65 million, a P/E ratio of -11.40 and a beta of 1.14.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE:PDM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.65). Piedmont Office Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 12.90% and a negative return on equity of 4.29%. The company had revenue of $145.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.37 million. On average, research analysts expect that Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.19%. 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.