Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,709 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,898 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $2,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $407,496,000. Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter worth $129,344,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at $90,045,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,761 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 9.6% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,983,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,648,000 after purchasing an additional 174,206 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CDP opened at $30.96 on Thursday. COPT Defense Properties has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $30.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of -28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.99.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.33). COPT Defense Properties had a negative return on equity of 7.52% and a negative net margin of 15.75%. The firm had revenue of $187.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. COPT Defense Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently -109.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CDP. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S. Government (USG) defense installations and missions (referred to as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company's tenants include the USG and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in priority national security activities, and who generally require mission-critical and high security property enhancements.