Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Grows Stock Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 476.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $77,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AMP shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $415.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $518.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.12, for a total value of $523,120.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,231,200. The trade was a 9.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William F. Truscott sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owns 14,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,576,486.67. This trade represents a 29.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,636 shares of company stock valued at $6,263,989. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Ameriprise Financial stock opened at $470.84 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $481.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $521.33. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.74 and a 12 month high of $582.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.23. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This is an increase from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.75%.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Company 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.