Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 711,833 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 63,978 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of COPT Defense Properties worth $19,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,563,548 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,795,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,425,000 after buying an additional 89,571 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 21.9% in 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 335,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 24,577 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 4,398 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.70, for a total value of $117,426.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 0.7%

CDP stock opened at $28.39 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $27.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 0.87. COPT Defense Properties has a 12 month low of $23.92 and a 12 month high of $34.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 3.21 and a quick ratio of 3.21.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last announced 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. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.86% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $187.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. COPT Defense Properties's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.305 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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