Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 75.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 861,076 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,655,038 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.76% of COPT Defense Properties worth $23,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,063,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,945,257 shares of the company's stock worth $53,047,000 after purchasing an additional 38,916 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 27,034 shares of the company's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 5,145 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,517 shares of the company's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 711,833 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,412,000 after acquiring an additional 63,978 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 4,398 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

CDP opened at $27.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.89 and a 200-day moving average of $27.64. 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 $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 3.21 and a current ratio of 3.21.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 18.86%. The business had revenue of $187.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. COPT Defense Properties's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued 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 4.36%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio is presently 97.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.14.

COPT Defense Properties Company 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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