Graham Capital Management L.P. Sells 57,559 Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Graham Capital Management L.P. decreased its stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 87.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,053 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,559 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,591 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $110,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,081 shares of the company's stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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 price objective for the company. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.43.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CDP opened at $27.45 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.83. COPT Defense Properties has a 1-year low of $23.47 and a 1-year high of $34.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32 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 data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.65. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm had revenue of $187.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 firm also recently announced 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 4.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 97.60%.

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.

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