COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Position Boosted by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,795,639 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 89,571 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 4.26% of COPT Defense Properties worth $148,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CDP. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 5,563,548 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 21.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,099,052 shares of the company's stock worth $95,916,000 after buying an additional 335,775 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,139,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,216,000 after acquiring an additional 24,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 723,486 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

CDP traded up $0.30 on Friday, hitting $26.49. 178,142 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 912,752. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.30. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $23.47 and a twelve month high of $34.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54 and a beta of 0.92.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.65. The business had revenue of $187.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 18.44%. The business's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.305 dividend. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About COPT Defense Properties

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.