Traders Buy Large Volume of Brookfield Asset Management Put Options (NYSE:BAM)

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 6,924 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 751% compared to the average daily volume of 814 put options.

Institutional Trading of Brookfield Asset Management

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BAM. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 38,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,161,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Brookfield Asset Management by 3.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 537,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,404,000 after acquiring an additional 20,309 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Brookfield Asset Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $22,369,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Brookfield Asset Management in the first quarter worth approximately $340,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,050,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,491,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220,298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.41% of the company’s stock.

Brookfield Asset Management Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE BAM traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $38.70. 714,433 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,140,987. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.68. Brookfield Asset Management has a fifty-two week low of $28.35 and a fifty-two week high of $43.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.47.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM) (TSE:BAM.A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.02. Brookfield Asset Management had a net margin of 50.23% and a return on equity of 96.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Brookfield Asset Management will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This is an increase from Brookfield Asset Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Brookfield Asset Management’s dividend payout ratio is 134.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BAM shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Brookfield Asset Management from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. CIBC increased their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Brookfield Asset Management from $46.50 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Brookfield Asset Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brookfield Asset Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.20.

About Brookfield Asset Management

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a real estate investment firm specializing in alternative asset management services. Its renewable power and transition business includes the operates in the hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, and sustainable solution sector. The company's infrastructure business engages in the utilities, transport, midstream, and data infrastructure sectors.