Avanza Fonder AB Decreases Stock Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Avanza Fonder AB lowered its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $3,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMP. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

NYSE AMP opened at $516.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $49.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $486.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $515.76. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $385.74 and a 1-year high of $582.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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

Ameriprise Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a boost from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameriprise Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Raymond James upgraded 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 note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $517.13.

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.