Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information and Holders
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PDM.” As of February 16, 2022, there were 8,175 common stockholders of record of our common stock.
Distributions
We intend to make distributions each taxable year equal to at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (not including a return of capital for federal income tax purposes). One of our primary goals is to pay regular quarterly distributions to our stockholders. The amount of distributions paid and the taxable portion thereof in prior periods are not necessarily indicative of amounts anticipated in future periods.
The amount of distributions to common stockholders is determined by our board of directors and is dependent upon a number of factors, including funds deemed available for distribution, based principally on our current and future projected operating cash flows reduced by capital requirements necessary to maintain our existing portfolio, our future capital needs, our future sources of liquidity, and the annual distribution requirements necessary to maintain our status as a REIT under the Code. Our board of directors declared a $0.21 dividend for each of the four quarters of 2021.
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Performance Graph
The following graph compares the cumulative total return of Piedmont’s common stock with the FTSE NAREIT Equity Office Index, the FTSE NAREIT Equity REITs Index, and the S&P 500 Index for the period beginning on December 31, 2016 through December 31, 2021. The graph assumes a $100 investment in each of Piedmont and the three indices, and the reinvestment of any dividends.
Comparison of Cumulative Total Return of One or More Companies, Peer Groups, Industry Indices, and/or Broad Markets
As of the year ended December 31,
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. $ 100.00 $ 100.10 $ 90.99 $ 123.67 $ 94.64 $ 112.26
FTSE NAREIT Equity Office $ 100.00 $ 105.25 $ 89.99 $ 118.26 $ 96.46 $ 117.68
FTSE NAREIT Equity REITs $ 100.00 $ 105.23 $ 100.36 $ 126.45 $ 116.34 $ 166.64
S&P 500 $ 100.00 $ 121.83 $ 116.49 $ 153.17 $ 181.35 $ 233.41
The performance graph above is being furnished as part of this Annual Report solely in accordance with the requirement under Rule 14a-3(b)(9) to furnish Piedmont’s stockholders with such information and, therefore, is not deemed to be filed with the SEC or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and should not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any of our prior or subsequent filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
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Purchases of Equity Securities By the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, we repurchased and retired approximately 1.1 million shares of our common stock in the open market as part of our board-authorized stock repurchase plan as follows:
Period Total Number of
Shares Purchased
(in 000’s) Average Price Paid
per Share Total Number of
Shares Purchased
as Part of
Publicly Announced
Program
(in 000’s) (1)
Maximum Approximate
Dollar Value of Shares
Available That May
Yet Be Purchased
Under the Program
(in 000’s)
October 1, 2021 to October 31, 2021 — $ — — $ 169,329
November 1, 2021 to November 30, 2021 573 $ 17.77 573 $ 159,133
December 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 487 $ 17.75 487 $ 150,477 (1)
Total 1,060 $ 17.76 1,060
(1) Amounts available for purchase relate only to remaining capacity under our stock repurchase plan as of December 31, 2021. On February 19, 2020, our board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $200 million of shares of our common stock pursuant to the stock repurchase plan between February 2020 and February 2022, at the discretion of management, of which $150.5 million of capacity remained as of December 31, 2021. On February 17, 2022, our board of directors extended the existing stock repurchase authorization through February 2024.
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
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