Investors Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM)

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 11,252 put options on the company. This is an increase of 979% compared to the average volume of 1,043 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAM shares. UBS Group set a $58.00 target price on Brookfield Asset Management and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $74.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Asset Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookfield Asset Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAM. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Brookfield Asset Management by 18.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 465,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,511,000 after purchasing an additional 72,600 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 127.5% during the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 590,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,612,000 after buying an additional 330,970 shares in the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 115.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 216,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,325,000 after acquiring an additional 116,000 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 430,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,774,000 after acquiring an additional 6,728 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Brookfield Asset Management by 144.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 80,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,456,000 after acquiring an additional 47,659 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.41% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Asset Management Trading Up 2.8%

BAM opened at $52.94 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Brookfield Asset Management has a 52 week low of $41.78 and a 52 week high of $64.10. The stock has a market cap of $86.71 billion, a PE ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.42 and a 200-day moving average of $55.38.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Brookfield Asset Management had a return on equity of 29.67% and a net margin of 51.59%. Equities research analysts predict that Brookfield Asset Management will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.5025 per share. This is an increase from Brookfield Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Brookfield Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is 115.13%.

About Brookfield Asset Management

Brookfield Asset Management is a global alternative asset manager headquartered in Toronto, Canada, that specializes in investments in real assets and related private equity and credit strategies. The firm acquires, manages and develops assets in sectors such as real estate, renewable power, infrastructure and private equity, seeking long-term value through active asset management and operational improvements. Brookfield structures and manages commingled funds, listed partnerships and separate accounts for institutional and retail investors.

The company’s products and services include fund management across equity and debt strategies, direct asset ownership and operations, property and facilities management, and capital markets solutions.