Aristotle Capital Management LLC Sells 73,521 Shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Aristotle Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,246,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 73,521 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial accounts for 3.3% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Aristotle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $1,728,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 4,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.07, for a total value of $2,499,128.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,901,249.59. The trade was a 39.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William F. Truscott sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.29, for a total transaction of $3,241,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,576,486.67. The trade was a 29.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,636 shares of company stock valued at $6,263,989. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Ameriprise Financial stock opened at $484.28 on Friday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.74 and a 1 year high of $582.05. The company has a market cap of $46.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $480.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $521.15.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.08 by $0.42. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 69.35%. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $4.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is a boost from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Ameriprise Financial’s payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $580.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James raised Ameriprise Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $518.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.67.

Ameriprise Financial Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services to individual and institutional clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, and Corporate & Other.