Brookfield Asset Management Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BAM)

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 2,773 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 69% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,644 call options.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Asset Management

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 33,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,763,000 after buying an additional 3,070 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,387,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,304,000 after buying an additional 20,586 shares in the last quarter. Midway Capital Research & Management acquired a new stake in Brookfield Asset Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $829,000. Finally, GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new stake in Brookfield Asset Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,843,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.41% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Asset Management Price Performance

Shares of Brookfield Asset Management stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $43.80. 2,024,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,625,562. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $71.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.42. Brookfield Asset Management has a 52 week low of $41.78 and a 52 week high of $64.10.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Brookfield Asset Management had a return on equity of 29.81% and a net margin of 51.59%. Research analysts forecast that Brookfield Asset Management will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.5025 dividend. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Brookfield Asset Management’s payout ratio is 132.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on BAM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Brookfield Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group set a $52.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research note on Friday, February 20th. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Brookfield Asset Management currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.18.

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.