Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 789,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,461 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.70% of COPT Defense Properties worth $19,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CDP. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 18.7% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 24,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 20.4% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 372,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,315,000 after acquiring an additional 62,998 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 140.0% in the second quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,509,000 after acquiring an additional 175,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293,761 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,820. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CDP has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CDP opened at $31.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 3.17 and a quick ratio of 3.17. COPT Defense Properties has a 1-year low of $22.20 and a 1-year high of $31.50. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.75, 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 results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $187.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.11 million. COPT Defense Properties had a negative return on equity of 7.52% and a negative net margin of 15.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently -109.26%.

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.