COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Shares Purchased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,665 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,239 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 87.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 218,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,643,000 after buying an additional 102,280 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,927,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,797,000 after acquiring an additional 21,388 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 13.0% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 42,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after acquiring an additional 4,885 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the third quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 35.8% in 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, COPT Defense Properties presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.43.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:CDP opened at $26.24 on Thursday. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $34.22. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33 and a beta of 0.92.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.305 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.65%. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is 99.19%.

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.