Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 27,812 Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 231,131 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 27,812 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.21% of COPT Defense Properties worth $7,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter worth about $407,496,000. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter valued at $129,344,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 65.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,274,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,761 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 9.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,983,526 shares of the company's stock worth $49,648,000 after purchasing an additional 174,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,630,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,818,000 after purchasing an additional 69,656 shares during the period.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CDP traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,044,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 867,335. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.38. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $34.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. COPT Defense Properties's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is presently 96.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties 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, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CDP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.86.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

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.