Citigroup Inc. Lowers Stake in COPT Defense Properties $CDP

Citigroup Inc. cut its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 304,733 shares of the company’s stock after selling 112,928 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.27% of COPT Defense Properties worth $8,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CDP. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in COPT Defense Properties by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,999,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,999,000 after purchasing an additional 205,143 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in COPT Defense Properties by 5.9% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,241,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,719,000 after buying an additional 406,617 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 7.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,566,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,630,000 after acquiring an additional 253,558 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,101,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,553,000 after acquiring an additional 45,375 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,577,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,075,000 after acquiring an additional 131,287 shares during the period.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Down 1.1%

CDP stock opened at $31.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.95, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56 and a beta of 0.86. COPT Defense Properties has a twelve month low of $23.92 and a twelve month high of $32.82.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 19.94% and a return on equity of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $197.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.710-2.790 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.670-0.690 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

COPT Defense Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is an increase from COPT Defense Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s payout ratio is currently 90.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on COPT Defense Properties from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at COPT Defense Properties

In other COPT Defense Properties news, Director Philip L. Hawkins sold 5,536 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.71, for a total transaction of $181,082.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,799.48. The trade was a 26.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

COPT Defense Properties Profile

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.