Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 22,331 Shares of COPT Defense Properties $CDP

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,753,659 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,331 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.55% of COPT Defense Properties worth $53,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CDP. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 104,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,853,000 after buying an additional 11,316 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 67,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 834,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,744,000 after acquiring an additional 39,683 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 152.4% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 214,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,839,000 after acquiring an additional 129,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in COPT Defense Properties by 11.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 758,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,920,000 after acquiring an additional 80,153 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CDP shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded COPT Defense Properties from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.38.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

COPT Defense Properties stock opened at $37.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 2.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23 and a beta of 0.76. COPT Defense Properties has a 1-year low of $26.91 and a 1-year high of $38.06. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.11 and its 200 day moving average is $32.20.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.34). COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 20.10% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The business had revenue of $200.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.730-2.790 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.680-0.700 EPS. Research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 3,922 shares of COPT Defense Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $126,994.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,141.14. This trade represents a 50.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About COPT Defense Properties

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.