UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its holdings in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,181 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,334 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.06% of Saul Centers worth $550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Saul Centers in the 4th quarter valued at $2,549,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Saul Centers in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,398,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 in the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,164,000. Finally, Crossingbridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Saul Centers during the fourth quarter worth about $1,164,000. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO B Francis Saul II bought 2,821 shares of Saul Centers stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.22 per share, with a total value of $93,713.62. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 217,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,221,928.34. This trade represents a 1.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have acquired a total of 10,210 shares of company stock worth $341,786 in the last three months. Insiders own 56.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Saul Centers Trading Down 0.2%

BFS stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $34.84. 42,447 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 50,174. Saul Centers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.25 and a 52-week high of $42.39. The company has a market cap of $843.16 million, a P/E ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $33.30 and its 200-day moving average is $36.08.

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

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.