Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) Director Sells $558,996.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,200 shares on May 8 at an average price of $465.83, totaling about $559,000. After the sale, he still held 6,300 shares worth roughly $2.93 million.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $11.26 EPS versus analyst estimates of $10.21. Revenue came in at $4.77 billion, slightly below forecasts, but still rose 9.7% year over year.
• Ameriprise raised its quarterly dividend to $1.70 per share from $1.60 previously, which annualizes to $6.80 per share and yields about 1.4%. The move suggests continued capital returns despite the insider sale.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,200 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.83, for a total transaction of $558,996.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,934,729. This represents a 16.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

Ameriprise Financial stock traded up $7.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $470.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 764,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,429. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $422.37 and a 12-month high of $550.18. The company has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $454.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $473.82.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.05. The business had revenue of $4.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 62.88%. Ameriprise Financial's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 42.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This is a positive change from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AMP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $605.00 price target (up from $580.00) on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $452.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $582.00 price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $543.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $742,438,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 84.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,085,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $532,455,000 after purchasing an additional 496,319 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 1,440.2% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 466,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,572,000 after purchasing an additional 435,885 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 828,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $406,216,000 after acquiring an additional 381,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 140.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 471,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $231,805,000 after acquiring an additional 275,659 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm provides a range of advice-based wealth management, asset management and insurance products to individual and institutional clients. Its business model centers on delivering financial planning and investment advice through a network of financial advisors alongside proprietary product offerings designed to meet retirement, protection and accumulation needs.

Core products and services include comprehensive financial planning and advisory services, managed investment portfolios, retirement planning solutions, annuities and life insurance products.

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