Jane Street Group LLC Trims Holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Jane Street Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) by 74.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,901 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 25,339 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in Saul Centers were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Saul Centers in the 4th quarter valued at $2,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Saul Centers by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 86,974 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,375,000 after buying an additional 31,308 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Saul Centers in the 4th quarter valued at $1,164,000. Crossingbridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Saul Centers in the 4th quarter valued at $1,164,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Saul Centers by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 140,411 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,448,000 after buying an additional 29,951 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Saul Centers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of Saul Centers stock traded down $0.58 on Thursday, hitting $34.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 73,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 50,227. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.25 and a 52-week high of $42.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.22. The company has a market capitalization of $824.17 million, a P/E ratio of 18.51 and a beta of 1.10.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business had revenue of $70.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $69.76 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Saul Centers, Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO B Francis Saul II bought 7,179 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.59 per share, for a total transaction of $241,142.61. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 214,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,207,607.84. This trade represents a 3.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have acquired 10,210 shares of company stock worth $341,786 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 50.20% of the company's stock.

About Saul Centers

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.