Stock price when the opinion was issued
We are in a market where things that have been working have changed over the last couple of years. When that happens, institutions look at their investment managers to see if they’ve been keeping up or not. Because markets have been going through structural changes and institutions have been going through reallocations, there are lots of searches going on for managers. This company is right in the heart of that business and participates. It has been a pretty good performer and he would have no trouble owning the stock.
It has been a favourite for him for some time. He bought it for income but it is providing some growth as well. They are overdue to raise their dividend but they are using their cash to grow. He does not mind that. He is buying for new clients. It’s a little rich but he is still buying it because there are some onetime items and the PE ratio is not too bad.
Thinks the dividend is pretty safe, and is probably going to continue to grow over the next few years. This has very strong visibility and stability of their cash flows. 95%-99% of their annual revenues are recurring year-to-year. They are now growing in the US, so they are getting traction. The state of Illinois has just become a new customer. They keep making acquisitions to add to their cash flow and earnings. He definitely likes this. 4.5% dividend yield, which he thinks will grow nicely.