Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (NYSE:BBU - Free Report) by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,189 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 26,947 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Brookfield Business Partners worth $2,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BBU. Brookfield Corp ON raised its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 25,602,504 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $596,538,000 after acquiring an additional 428,511 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 14.2% in the third quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 1,518,892 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,528,000 after purchasing an additional 188,743 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Brookfield Business Partners by 8.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 834,512 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $20,193,000 after purchasing an additional 66,786 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in Brookfield Business Partners by 13.6% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 773,975 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,145,000 after buying an additional 92,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Brookfield Business Partners by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Scheer Rowlett & Associates Investment Management Ltd. now owns 641,835 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,047,000 after buying an additional 82,372 shares in the last quarter. 85.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookfield Business Partners Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE BBU traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.23. 14,546 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,223. Brookfield Business Partners L.P. has a 12-month low of $16.85 and a 12-month high of $26.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Brookfield Business Partners (NYSE:BBU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The business services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter. Brookfield Business Partners had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 30.68%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brookfield Business Partners L.P. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Business Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.063 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Brookfield Business Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Brookfield Business Partners's dividend payout ratio is 3.09%.

Brookfield Business Partners Profile

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.