Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 27,812 Shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 231,131 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,812 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.21% of COPT Defense Properties worth $7,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of COPT Defense Properties stock opened at $31.16 on Friday. COPT Defense Properties has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $34.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.30 and its 200 day moving average is $28.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.38 and a quick ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 18.34%. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 96.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CDP shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, COPT Defense Properties has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other COPT Defense Properties news, COO Britt A. Snider purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $58,820. The trade was a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

COPT Defense Properties Company Profile

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.