Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Reduces Holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 35.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,307 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,608 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.10% of COPT Defense Properties worth $2,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 321.7% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,071 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. FIL Ltd increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in COPT Defense Properties by 10.7% during the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 6,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 4,398 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.70, for a total transaction of $117,426.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

COPT Defense Properties Trading Up 1.1%

CDP stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.59. The company had a trading volume of 646,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 946,811. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25 and a beta of 0.88. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $23.84 and a 52 week high of $34.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $26.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.39.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65. The company had revenue of $187.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.305 dividend. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is 97.60%.

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.