Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM - Free Report) TSE: BAM.A by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,930,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 62,908 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.02% of Brookfield Asset Management worth $483,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Asset Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Brookfield Asset Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Brookfield Asset Management by 1,606.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Brookfield Asset Management by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Brookfield Asset Management by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 68.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brookfield Asset Management Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE BAM traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,056,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,463,383. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. has a one year low of $37.29 and a one year high of $62.61. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $56.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.43. The stock has a market cap of $26.90 billion, a PE ratio of 46.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.46.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM - Get Free Report) TSE: BAM.A last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. Brookfield Asset Management had a return on equity of 81.16% and a net margin of 54.47%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This is a positive change from Brookfield Asset Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Brookfield Asset Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Brookfield Asset Management from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Brookfield Asset Management from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Brookfield Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered Brookfield Asset Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Brookfield Asset Management from $63.00 to $62.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Asset Management presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.71.

Brookfield Asset Management Profile

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.