Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Saul Centers were worth $313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State of Tennessee Treasury Department lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 9,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 12,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 65.1% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Saul Centers

In other news, COO David Todd Pearson bought 2,300 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $36.52 per share, with a total value of $83,996.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,570.08. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO B Francis Saul II bought 8,600 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.80 per share, with a total value of $325,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 146,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,545,486.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David Todd Pearson bought 2,300 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.52 per share, with a total value of $83,996.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,570.08. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 56.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BFS. StockNews.com cut Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. B. Riley began coverage on Saul Centers in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.50 price target for the company.

Saul Centers Stock Performance

NYSE BFS opened at $36.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $871.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01 and a beta of 1.08. Saul Centers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.13 and a twelve month high of $41.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.14 and a 200 day moving average of $37.31.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.49%. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is 136.42%.

Saul Centers Company Profile

Saul Centers is a self-managed, self-administered equity REIT headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Saul Centers currently operates and manages a real estate portfolio comprised of 61 properties that includes (a) 57 community and neighborhood Shopping Centers and Mixed-Use properties with approximately 9.8 million square feet of leasable area and (b) four land and development properties.