Cerity Partners LLC Makes New Investment in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in COPT Defense Properties by 34.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BTIG Research increased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

CDP stock opened at $32.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.80. COPT Defense Properties has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $34.22.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.32). COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The firm had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.72%.

COPT Defense Properties Profile

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.