Norges Bank Takes $39.69 Million Position in COPT Defense Properties $CDP

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,427,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,685,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,558,000 after buying an additional 17,049 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of COPT Defense Properties by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 764,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,265,000 after buying an additional 53,735 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 86.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 4,311 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 181.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 2,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in COPT Defense Properties by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 1,079 shares during the last quarter.

COPT Defense Properties Trading Up 0.8%

COPT Defense Properties stock opened at $32.93 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. COPT Defense Properties has a 12 month low of $26.91 and a 12 month high of $33.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 0.79.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.34). COPT Defense Properties had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 20.10%.The company had revenue of $200.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. COPT Defense Properties has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.730-2.790 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.680-0.700 EPS. Analysts anticipate that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert L. Denton sold 3,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.38, for a total transaction of $126,994.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,141.14. This represents a 50.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CDP. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $29.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.00.

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.