CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Boosts Stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 227,875 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,969 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.20% of COPT Defense Properties worth $7,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 813.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,247,854 shares of the company's stock worth $193,371,000 after buying an additional 5,563,548 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,283,383 shares of the company's stock worth $101,621,000 after buying an additional 590,051 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,099,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,916,000 after purchasing an additional 335,775 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,139,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,216,000 after purchasing an additional 24,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,906,341 shares of the company's stock worth $59,001,000 after buying an additional 723,486 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CDP traded up $0.29 on Monday, reaching $26.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 969,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,755. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $23.47 and a twelve month high of $34.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.67 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.57 and a 200-day moving average of $29.38.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 9.07%. Equities analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.305 dividend. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, COPT Defense Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.43.

COPT Defense Properties Profile

COPT Defense Properties is a real estate investment trust. It acquires, develops, manages, sells, and leases out office properties and data centers. The firm operates through the following segments: Defense/Information Technology Locations, Regional Office, Wholesale Data Center, and Other. The company was founded on January 22,1988 and is headquartered in Columbia, MD.