Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 30.6%, selling 28,103 shares and now owns 0.07% of the company, valued at approximately $30.46 million.
• Ameriprise Financial reported quarterly earnings of $9.11 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share set to be paid on August 18th.
• Institutional investors own 83.95% of Ameriprise Financial's stock, with several major firms, including GAMMA Investing LLC and JPMorgan Chase & Co., significantly increasing their positions during the first quarter.

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 30.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,103 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Ameriprise Financial worth $30,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMP. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 2.6% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the first quarter valued at $606,000. OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 1st quarter worth $299,000. Harfst & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 4,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,358,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 20,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,993,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial

In other Ameriprise Financial news, CEO William F. Truscott sold 9,929 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.89, for a total value of $5,032,910.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,599,613.83. This trade represents a 47.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Ameriprise Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $462.00 to $530.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $595.00 to $601.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameriprise Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $518.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $534.71.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:AMP traded up $13.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $518.26. The stock had a trading volume of 128,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,566. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $396.14 and a one year high of $582.05. The company has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $520.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $506.39.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.00 by $0.11. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 18.30% and a return on equity of 65.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.72 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Ameriprise Financial's payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

About Ameriprise Financial

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.