State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Position in COPT Defense Properties $CDP

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,949 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,509 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.20% of COPT Defense Properties worth $6,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CDP. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 3,866 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.4% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 237,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,468,000 after purchasing an additional 3,351 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 9.9% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 711,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,412,000 after purchasing an additional 63,978 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 2.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,945,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,047,000 after purchasing an additional 38,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 27,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 5,145 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Down 0.2%

CDP opened at $28.37 on Monday. COPT Defense Properties has a 52 week low of $23.92 and a 52 week high of $34.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.01. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 19.23%.The company had revenue of $175.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.55 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. COPT Defense Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.305 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.31%.

Insider Activity at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, Director Lisa G. Trimberger sold 4,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.72, for a total value of $150,405.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,216.64. This trade represents a 19.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CDP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Friday. New Street Research set a $33.00 price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research note on Monday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.75.

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.