TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Trims Holdings in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. $BBU

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. cut its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,092,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 26,818 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. owned approximately 1.25% of Brookfield Business Partners worth $37,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BBU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 636.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 36,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 31,135 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 30,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 44,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 2,276 shares during the period. Credit Industriel ET Commercial purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,905,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,392,000. 85.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookfield Business Partners Stock Performance

Shares of BBU stock opened at $31.46 on Monday. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. has a one year low of $18.63 and a one year high of $37.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.79 and its 200 day moving average is $34.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -121.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The business services provider reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($1.86). The firm had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 2.67%. Sell-side analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently -96.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce started coverage on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Friday, February 27th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Brookfield Business Partners from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Brookfield Business Partners Profile

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE: BBU) is a publicly traded partnership sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management. The company focuses on acquiring and operating high-quality businesses across a range of industrial and service-oriented sectors. Through a partnership structure, Brookfield Business Partners seeks to provide investors with returns generated from stable, cash-flowing enterprises that benefit from Brookfield Asset Management’s global scale and operational expertise.

The company’s investment strategy centers on businesses within the industrial services, manufacturing, transportation, and business services segments.