COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Shares Sold by Sapience Investments LLC

Sapience Investments LLC reduced its position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,894 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,358 shares during the quarter. COPT Defense Properties comprises about 1.5% of Sapience Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Sapience Investments LLC owned 0.08% of COPT Defense Properties worth $2,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 813.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,247,854 shares of the company's stock worth $193,371,000 after acquiring an additional 5,563,548 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $45,718,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its position in COPT Defense Properties by 192.9% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,158,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,847,000 after purchasing an additional 762,840 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in COPT Defense Properties by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,906,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,001,000 after purchasing an additional 723,486 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $101,621,000 after buying an additional 590,051 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CDP shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 4,398 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.70, for a total transaction of $117,426.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CDP traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.49. 720,600 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 927,625. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $23.47 and a 52 week high of $34.22. The company's 50 day moving average is $26.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.65. The company had revenue of $187.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 18.44%. COPT Defense Properties's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.305 per share. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.60%.

COPT Defense Properties Company 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.