Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as "Underperform" by Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America reaffirmed its “underperform” rating on Ameriprise Financial and cut its price target from $570 to $445, implying 11.16% downside from the reported market price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with the stock carrying an overall “hold” rating and an average price target of $557. Ameriprise recently exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, reporting $11.07 EPS on $4.90 billion in revenue.
• The company authorized a $5.5 billion share-repurchase program, potentially allowing it to buy back up to 12.3% of outstanding shares, while insiders sold nearly $16.3 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating restated by equities research analysts at Bank of America in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $445.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous price objective of $570.00. Bank of America's target price would suggest a potential downside of 11.16% from the company's current price.

AMP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $562.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $582.00 to $638.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $557.00.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Up 0.0%

AMP opened at $500.91 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $533.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $497.78. Ameriprise Financial has a 1-year low of $422.37 and a 1-year high of $572.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.81 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 64.19% and a net margin of 20.24%. The business's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.11 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ameriprise Financial will post 46.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, September 29th that allows the company to repurchase $5.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Walter Berman sold 11,012 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $548.95, for a total value of $6,045,037.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,079,060.55. The trade was a 66.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Deirdre Mcgraw sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,373 shares in the company, valued at $1,883,078.44. The trade was a 41.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,988 shares of company stock valued at $16,316,497 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 1,279.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,365,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,069,493,000 after buying an additional 58,772,775 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 960.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,352,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,537,817,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036,128 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 980.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,069,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,019,036,000 after acquiring an additional 1,878,244 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $925,211,000. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $575,767,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc NYSE: AMP is a diversified financial services company that provides advice, wealth management, asset management, insurance and retirement solutions. Through its network of financial advisors and digital platforms, the company serves individuals, families, businesses and institutions with financial planning, investment management and related services.

Its products and services include brokerage and advisory accounts, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, retirement plans, annuities, life and long-term care insurance, banking services and financial planning.

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