Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Shares Sold by Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 53.6% during the first quarter, now holding 6,384 shares valued at approximately $3.09 million.
• Ameriprise Financial reported earnings of $9.11 per share, exceeding consensus estimates by $0.11, and its revenue for the quarter reached $4.49 billion, up 2.2% year-over-year.
• The company has authorized a $4.5 billion share buyback program, reflecting the board's belief that its stock is undervalued, along with a declared quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 53.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,365 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial accounts for approximately 4.6% of Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc.'s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $3,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 1.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 91.6% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 488.5% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 971 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 6.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 7.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,864,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Ameriprise Financial stock opened at $521.03 on Monday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $385.74 and a 12-month high of $582.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $49.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $522.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $511.12.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.72 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $4.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair downgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $518.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $565.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $462.00 to $530.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $533.86.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

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.

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