GSA Capital Partners LLP Increases Position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 70.1% in Q1, now owning 91,881 shares valued at approximately $2.51 million.
• Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target for COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $30.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating on the stock.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.305 per share, with a high payout ratio of 97.60%, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.37%.

GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 70.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,881 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,864 shares during the period. COPT Defense Properties makes up about 0.2% of GSA Capital Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.08% of COPT Defense Properties worth $2,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CDP. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 4th quarter worth $45,718,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,283,383 shares of the company's stock worth $101,621,000 after acquiring an additional 590,051 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 4th quarter worth $16,063,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,099,052 shares of the company's stock worth $95,916,000 after acquiring an additional 335,775 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.14.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CDP traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.21. 534,888 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 955,575. COPT Defense Properties has a fifty-two week low of $23.92 and a fifty-two week high of $34.22. The company has a quick ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.55.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $175.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.55 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 9.38%. COPT Defense Properties's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.305 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 4,398 shares of COPT Defense Properties 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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.