GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 24,313 Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 1,732.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,716 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,313 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $701,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDP. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 233,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,258,000 after purchasing an additional 13,302 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 150,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,648,000 after purchasing an additional 10,769 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $59,001,000 after purchasing an additional 723,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $850,000.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

CDP opened at $28.58 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 3.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. COPT Defense Properties has a 12 month low of $23.92 and a 12 month high of $34.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86 and a beta of 0.88.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65. The business had revenue of $187.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.86% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.305 dividend. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is 97.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.14.

Insider Activity

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 4,398 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.70, for a total transaction of $117,426.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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