Jennison Associates LLC Boosts Holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 58.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,997 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,160 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.07% of COPT Defense Properties worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 813.0% in the fourth 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 boosted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 1.9% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 590,051 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,099,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,916,000 after acquiring an additional 335,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake 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 during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 4,398 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of COPT Defense Properties stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $27.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 180,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 955,108. COPT Defense Properties has a 52-week low of $23.92 and a 52-week high of $34.22. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's 50-day moving average is $27.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.63. 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 (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65. The company 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 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.305 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is currently 97.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.14.

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.