Earnest Partners LLC Sells 40,877 Shares of COPT Defense Properties $CDP

Earnest Partners LLC cut its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,718,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,877 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in COPT Defense Properties were worth $137,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the second quarter worth about $39,371,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 16.8% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,457,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215,936 shares in the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,399,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 289.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 900,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,155,000 after buying an additional 669,181 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 323.0% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 791,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,013,000 after purchasing an additional 604,670 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CDP. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, COPT Defense Properties has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.88.

Insider Transactions at COPT Defense Properties

In other news, Director Philip L. Hawkins sold 5,536 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.71, for a total transaction of $181,082.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,799.48. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

COPT Defense Properties stock opened at $31.65 on Friday. COPT Defense Properties has a 1-year low of $23.92 and a 1-year high of $32.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 3.95 and a quick ratio of 3.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.12 and its 200 day moving average is $29.81.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $197.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.79 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 19.94%.COPT Defense Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.710-2.790 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.670-0.690 EPS. Research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.81%.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE: CDP) is a real estate investment trust organized to own, lease and manage healthcare and life science facilities serving the United States federal government, with a particular focus on Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs tenants. The company was formed in 2016 through a spin-off from Corporate Office Properties Trust, enabling it to concentrate exclusively on medical office buildings and specialized research facilities situated on or near military and federal research campuses.

The company’s portfolio comprises purpose-built, Class A medical office and outpatient specialty clinics, as well as life science laboratories.