Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies cut Ameriprise Financial’s price target from $645 to $638, but the new target still implies approximately 29.5% upside from the stock’s $492.84 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $572.55, despite mixed recent revisions from other firms.
• Ameriprise reported quarterly EPS of $11.07, exceeding estimates, and authorized a $5.5 billion share-repurchase program covering up to 12.3% of outstanding shares.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $645.00 to $638.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group's price target points to a potential upside of 29.45% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $560.00 to $520.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $489.00 to $483.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Ameriprise Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $572.55.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMP traded down $7.18 on Monday, hitting $492.84. The company had a trading volume of 151,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,586. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $44.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.16. Ameriprise Financial has a 52-week low of $422.37 and a 52-week high of $572.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $538.37 and a 200 day moving average of $496.25.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.81 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $4.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.87 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 64.19% and a net margin of 20.24%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial will post 46.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial

In other news, EVP Deirdre Mcgraw sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.28, for a total transaction of $1,339,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,883,078.44. The trade was a 41.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Dawn Brockman sold 472 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.93, for a total value of $263,814.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $398,517.09. The trade was a 39.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,988 shares of company stock worth $16,316,497 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 1,279.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,365,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,069,493,000 after purchasing an additional 58,772,775 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 960.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,352,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,537,817,000 after buying an additional 3,036,128 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $925,211,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $575,767,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 2.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,024,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $455,387,000 after buying an additional 19,731 shares in the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company provides financial planning, investment advice, wealth management, retirement planning and insurance solutions to individuals, families, business owners and institutional clients.

Ameriprise serves clients primarily through a network of financial advisors and offers products and services that include brokerage and advisory accounts, mutual funds and other investments, retirement accounts, annuities, life and long-term-care insurance, banking products and personalized financial planning.

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