Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 755,580 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,846 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.67% of COPT Defense Properties worth $23,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDP. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 87.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 218,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,643,000 after acquiring an additional 102,280 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in COPT Defense Properties by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,927,208 shares of the company's stock worth $88,797,000 after purchasing an additional 21,388 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 13.0% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 42,381 shares of the company's stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the third quarter valued at approximately $91,000.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CDP traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.36. 806,563 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,014. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.62. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $34.22. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 0.92.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.33. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 18.44%. As a group, analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.305 per share. This is an increase from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.43.

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.