COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,218 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,756 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.10% of COPT Defense Properties worth $3,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 227,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,047,000 after acquiring an additional 9,969 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 155.6% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 45,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 27,881 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 4th quarter worth about $578,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 100.1% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 438,216 shares of the company's stock worth $13,563,000 after purchasing an additional 219,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 23,665 shares of the company's stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 3,239 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, COPT Defense Properties presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.43.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CDP traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 126,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,016,862. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.47. COPT Defense Properties has a fifty-two week low of $23.47 and a fifty-two week high of $34.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.10.

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, hitting the consensus estimate 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 18.44% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.305 dividend. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.