Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $771,000 Stock Position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 77.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87,313 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,498,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the first quarter worth $1,702,000. California State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $2,721,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter valued at $7,571,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter worth $407,496,000.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE CDP opened at $31.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current 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’s fifty day moving average is $31.30 and its 200 day moving average is $28.17.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last posted 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). COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The company had revenue of $189.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is currently 96.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CDP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.86.

Insider Activity

In other COPT Defense Properties news, COO Britt A. Snider bought 1,000 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,820. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.