COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 260,176 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,651 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.23% of COPT Defense Properties worth $8,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CDP. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 376,938 shares of the company's stock worth $11,666,000 after acquiring an additional 18,278 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,081 shares of the company's stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,693,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,689,000 after purchasing an additional 710,491 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the 4th quarter worth $16,063,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 192.9% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,158,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,847,000 after buying an additional 762,840 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of COPT Defense Properties stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.36. 806,563 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 923,014. COPT Defense Properties has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $34.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.62.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.33. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 18.44%. On average, research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.305 dividend. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is presently 99.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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 objective for the company. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.43.

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.