COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 755,580 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,846 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.67% of COPT Defense Properties worth $23,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 624,027 shares of the company's stock worth $19,314,000 after acquiring an additional 47,343 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 69,341 shares of the company's stock worth $2,146,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,099,052 shares of the company's stock worth $95,916,000 after purchasing an additional 335,775 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 260,176 shares of the company's stock worth $8,052,000 after buying an additional 45,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 4th quarter valued at $1,397,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.43.

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COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

Shares of COPT Defense Properties stock traded up $0.34 on Tuesday, hitting $26.29. 843,618 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 926,279. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.67. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $34.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37 and a beta of 0.92.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from COPT Defense Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio is 99.19%.

COPT Defense Properties Company 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.