Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 723,486 Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 61.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,906,341 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 723,486 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.69% of COPT Defense Properties worth $59,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CDP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,693,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,689,000 after buying an additional 710,491 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 404.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 792,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,043,000 after acquiring an additional 635,705 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 72.4% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 876,366 shares of the company's stock worth $26,580,000 after purchasing an additional 367,969 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 50.0% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 358,026 shares of the company's stock worth $10,859,000 after purchasing an additional 119,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in COPT Defense Properties by 392.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 132,309 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,013,000 after purchasing an additional 105,446 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 0.1 %

CDP traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,224,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,070. COPT Defense Properties has a one year low of $22.20 and a one year high of $34.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The stock's 50 day moving average is $29.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.44.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.33. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 9.07%. As a group, analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.305 dividend. This is a boost 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 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. COPT Defense Properties's payout ratio is currently 95.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CDP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.88.

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.