Brookfield Asset Management Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BAM)

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 2,965 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 299% compared to the typical volume of 744 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookfield Asset Management

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Brookfield Asset Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 15,769,066 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $827,135,000 after purchasing an additional 315,036 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 62.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,735,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $566,092,000 after purchasing an additional 4,872,090 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 15.6% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,319,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,308,000 after purchasing an additional 716,892 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Brookfield Asset Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $263,444,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in Brookfield Asset Management by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,003,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,422,000 after buying an additional 294,966 shares during the period. 68.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAM has been the topic of several analyst reports. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $62.50 price objective on Brookfield Asset Management in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Scotia raised their target price on Brookfield Asset Management from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up from $48.00) on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research note on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.32.

Brookfield Asset Management Trading Up 1.2%

Brookfield Asset Management stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.24. The company had a trading volume of 362,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,169,820. The stock has a market cap of $82.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Brookfield Asset Management has a 1-year low of $42.20 and a 1-year high of $62.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.83.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.01. Brookfield Asset Management had a return on equity of 31.50% and a net margin of 48.89%.The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Brookfield Asset Management will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Asset Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.5025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.01 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Brookfield Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.86%.

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.