Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 42,427 Shares of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE:BFS - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 703,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 42,427 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 2.92% of Saul Centers worth $29,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BFS. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Saul Centers in the second quarter worth about $3,272,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Saul Centers in the first quarter worth about $1,293,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Saul Centers by 115.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,194,000 after buying an additional 31,919 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Saul Centers during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,060,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Saul Centers by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 228,474 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,401,000 after buying an additional 21,100 shares during the period. 49.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Saul Centers Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE BFS traded down $0.24 on Wednesday, hitting $40.46. 10,266 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,914. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Saul Centers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.87 and a twelve month high of $42.39. The company's 50 day moving average price is $40.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $977.92 million, a P/E ratio of 22.12 and a beta of 1.11.

Saul Centers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.83%. Saul Centers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 128.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BFS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. B. Riley boosted their price objective on Saul Centers from $43.50 to $45.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Saul Centers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

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.