Scotia Capital Inc. Sells 22,719 Shares of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU)

Scotia Capital Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU) by 39.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,214 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,719 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Brookfield Business Partners were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Brookfield Business Partners by 12,276.3% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 260,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,076,000 after buying an additional 258,662 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Brookfield Business Partners during the fourth quarter valued at $5,111,000. Forge First Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Forge First Asset Management Inc. now owns 532,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,538,000 after acquiring an additional 173,500 shares during the period. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,618,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,041,000 after purchasing an additional 99,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 928,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,871,000 after purchasing an additional 94,052 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.04% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Business Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBU opened at $20.34 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -41.51 and a beta of 1.34. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. has a 1-year low of $16.85 and a 1-year high of $26.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The business services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $1.33. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 2.20% and a return on equity of 5.09%. Research analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Business Partners Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Business Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently -51.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Brookfield Business Partners in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Brookfield Business Partners from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th.

About Brookfield Business Partners

Brookfield Business Partners L.P. is a private equity firm specializing in acquisition. The firm typically invests in business services, infrastructure services, construction, energy, and industrials sector. It prefers to take majority stake in companies. The firm seeks returns of at least 15% on its investments.