519,004 Shares in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 519,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,063,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CDP. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in COPT Defense Properties by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the fourth quarter worth $90,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties during the 3rd quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 4th quarter valued at $110,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.43.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CDP opened at $26.36 on Monday. COPT Defense Properties has a 52-week low of $22.53 and a 52-week high of $34.22. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 0.92.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.33. COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 18.44%. Equities analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.305 per share. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is presently 99.19%.

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.