Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 17,306 Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 886,136 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,306 shares during the quarter. COPT Defense Properties makes up approximately 1.5% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.79% of COPT Defense Properties worth $26,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CDP. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the second quarter valued at $50,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% in the second 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 period. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter valued at $102,000.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of CDP traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.94. 681,721 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 836,163. The stock has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.17, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $33.05.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 18.34% and a return on equity of 8.99%. COPT Defense Properties's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CDP has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.41 per share, for a total transaction of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,820. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.