Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Sells 353,170 Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC trimmed its position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 92.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,857 shares of the company's stock after selling 353,170 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC's holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake 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 valued at $193,371,000 after purchasing an additional 5,563,548 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,795,639 shares of the company's stock worth $148,425,000 after purchasing an additional 89,571 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 valued at $101,621,000 after buying an additional 590,051 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 12.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in COPT Defense Properties by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,139,455 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,216,000 after buying an additional 24,577 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CDP traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $27.35. The company had a trading volume of 247,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,643. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50 day moving average price is $26.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.60. 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 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week high of $34.22.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65. The business had revenue of $187.86 million during 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 for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.305 per share. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is 97.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CDP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, COPT Defense Properties presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 4,398 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.70, for a total value of $117,426.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

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.