Verition Fund Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Verition Fund Management LLC reduced its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP - Free Report) by 31.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 327,842 shares of the company's stock after selling 149,784 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.29% of COPT Defense Properties worth $9,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Spirit of America Management Corp NY bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter worth $102,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 34.9% during 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.

COPT Defense Properties Price Performance

CDP traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.95. 1,104,899 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,235,469. COPT Defense Properties has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $34.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01 and a beta of 0.98.

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 analysts' expectations of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.34% and a return on equity of 8.99%. The business's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. COPT Defense Properties's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, COO Britt A. Snider acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,820. This represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CDP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush upped their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.75.

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.