Cerity Partners LLC Takes Position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,277 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 34.9% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $236,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CDP has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CDP traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.62. 1,239,155 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,313,930. The firm 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. COPT Defense Properties has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $34.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.83.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at COPT Defense Properties

In related news, COO Britt A. Snider purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.06% of the company's stock.

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.