Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group cut its Ameriprise Financial stake by 83.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,057 shares and leaving it with 2,129 shares valued at about $1.04 million.
• Ameriprise reported strong quarterly earnings of $11.26 per share, topping expectations, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year to $4.77 billion.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.70 per share from $1.60, putting the annualized payout at $6.80 and the yield at 1.5%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 83.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,057 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 605 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,504,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameriprise Financial

In other Ameriprise Financial news, EVP Gerard P. Smyth sold 6,255 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.52, for a total value of $2,955,612.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,883,789.56. This trade represents a 50.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.83, for a total value of $558,996.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,300 shares in the company, valued at $2,934,729. This represents a 16.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

AMP stock opened at $439.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50-day moving average is $455.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.14. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $422.37 and a 1 year high of $550.18.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.05. The company had revenue of $4.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 62.88% and a net margin of 20.57%.Ameriprise Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 42.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio is 16.91%.

Ameriprise Financial 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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