New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 96.6% during the first quarter, selling 7,574 shares and leaving them with only 264 shares worth $128,000.
• Ameriprise Financial reported earnings of $9.11 per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates and showcasing a revenue increase of 2.2% year-over-year.
• The company has authorized a $4.50 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share with a yield of 1.3%.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 96.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,574 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $128,000 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 increased its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Ameriprise Financial by 488.5% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 971 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 5,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,864,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of Ameriprise Financial stock traded up $10.00 on Tuesday, reaching $516.65. The stock had a trading volume of 371,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,064. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $521.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $508.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $396.14 and a 1 year high of $582.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.72 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Ameriprise Financial's payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMP. 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 upped their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $595.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered Ameriprise Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $462.00 to $530.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $534.71.

Ameriprise Financial 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.