8,324 Shares in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Acquired by Renaissance Group LLC

Renaissance Group LLC acquired a new stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 8,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 376,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,666,000 after acquiring an additional 18,278 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,271 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,693,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,689,000 after purchasing an additional 710,491 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,063,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 192.9% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,158,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,847,000 after buying an additional 762,840 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CDP opened at $24.66 on Wednesday. COPT Defense Properties has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $34.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.86.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.305 dividend. This is an increase from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.19%.

COPT Defense Properties Profile

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.