Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 59.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,871 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 38,068 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Saul Centers were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Saul Centers by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 114,670 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,449,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Saul Centers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $437,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 55,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Saul Centers by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 9,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Saul Centers news, CEO B Francis Saul II purchased 7,179 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $33.59 per share, with a total value of $241,142.61. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,576 shares in the company, valued at $7,207,607.84. This trade represents a 3.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 56.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Saul Centers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Saul Centers Price Performance

BFS stock opened at $34.35 on Tuesday. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.25 and a 1 year high of $42.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.78. The firm has a market cap of $831.30 million, a P/E ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 1.08.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). Saul Centers had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The company had revenue of $70.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.76 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Saul Centers’s payout ratio is currently 160.54%.

Saul Centers 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.