Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 641,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50,389 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $19,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at about $100,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 34.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 $29.91 on Monday. COPT Defense Properties has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $34.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.20 and a 200 day moving average of $28.06. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.52 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.32). COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.34% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. COPT Defense Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 96.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 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 lowered their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Company 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.