Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 118.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $1,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 142,200.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 1,422 shares during the last quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,462,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 22,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,696,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 214,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $103,774,000 after buying an additional 3,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,943,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

Shares of AMP stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $517.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 402,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 495,020. The company has a 50 day moving average of $485.10 and a 200 day moving average of $516.13. The stock has a market cap of $49.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $385.74 and a 12-month high of $582.05.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.08 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 69.35%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.60 dividend. This is a boost from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Ameriprise Financial's payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMP. Raymond James raised shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $518.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $517.13.

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.