Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP Position Increased by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding increased its Ameriprise Financial stake by 196.3% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 20,831 shares valued at approximately $10.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.95% of AMP.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Ameriprise receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $572.55, despite some target-price reductions.
• Ameriprise reported quarterly EPS of $11.07, beating estimates, and authorized a $5.5 billion share-repurchase program. The company also pays a $1.70 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.4% annual yield.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 196.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,800 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $10,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMP. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 960.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,352,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,537,817,000 after buying an additional 3,036,128 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 980.8% during the third 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 buying an additional 1,878,244 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $925,211,000. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $575,767,000. 83.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $582.00 to $638.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Argus lifted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $534.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $645.00 to $638.00 in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Ameriprise Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $489.00 to $483.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameriprise Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $572.55.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AMP opened at $500.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $533.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $497.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $422.37 and a fifty-two week high of $572.56.

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

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Ameriprise Financial's payout ratio is currently 16.40%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Walter Berman sold 11,012 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $548.95, for a total transaction of $6,045,037.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,609 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,079,060.55. This represents a 66.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dawn M. Brockman sold 472 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.93, for a total value of $263,814.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $398,517.09. This represents a 39.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,988 shares of company stock worth $16,316,497 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameriprise Financial 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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