Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. $BAM

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,863,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 533,639 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Brookfield Asset Management were worth $411,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,723,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $928,414,000 after buying an additional 297,790 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 72.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,904,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,161,000 after buying an additional 1,642,375 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 11,172.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,524,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,845,000 after buying an additional 3,493,431 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 6.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,173,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $180,684,000 after buying an additional 204,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 1.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,438,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $139,644,000 after buying an additional 44,478 shares in the last quarter. 68.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookfield Asset Management Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of BAM opened at $47.63 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.26. The company has a market capitalization of $78.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. has a 1-year low of $42.20 and a 1-year high of $64.10.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. Brookfield Asset Management had a net margin of 51.59% and a return on equity of 29.81%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.5025 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from Brookfield Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Brookfield Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 132.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BAM shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Brookfield Asset Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Loop Capital set a $60.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Brookfield Asset Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.76.

Brookfield Asset Management Profile

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.