Norges Bank Invests $45.72 Million in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,477,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,718,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.31% of COPT Defense Properties at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $494,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 4.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,069,000 after buying an additional 2,959 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 1.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,763,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,810,000 after buying an additional 49,300 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 404.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 792,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,043,000 after buying an additional 635,705 shares during the period. Finally, Centiva Capital LP boosted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 52.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 28,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,000 after acquiring an additional 9,770 shares in the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Performance

Shares of CDP stock opened at $26.13 on Friday. COPT Defense Properties has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $34.22. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.92.

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

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.305 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

COPT Defense Properties Company 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.