Assetmark Inc. Increases Holdings in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS) by 1,249.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,336 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Saul Centers were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Saul Centers by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 109,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,229,000 after buying an additional 4,547 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $437,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Saul Centers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $501,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 8,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Saul Centers by 62.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 8,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Saul Centers Price Performance

Shares of BFS opened at $36.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $874.38 million, a PE ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Saul Centers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.98 and a fifty-two week high of $42.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.97.

Saul Centers (NYSE:BFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $67.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.94 million. Saul Centers had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 20.84%. Analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.53%. Saul Centers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 144.79%.

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.