Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Stock Holdings in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,264 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,470 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.23% of COPT Defense Properties worth $6,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CDP. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the 1st quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the 1st quarter worth $102,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CDP shares. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.43.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 0.7 %

CDP stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 31,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 838,398. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.41 and its 200-day moving average is $24.81. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 3.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. COPT Defense Properties has a 12 month low of $22.20 and a 12 month high of $29.50. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of -26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.33). COPT Defense Properties had a negative net margin of 15.75% and a negative return on equity of 7.52%. The company had revenue of $187.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. COPT Defense Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently -109.26%.

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.