Ascent Group LLC Buys New Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial, buying 766 shares valued at approximately $371,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Insider trading activity saw EVP Heather J. Melloh selling 1,500 shares, and CEO William F. Truscott selling 9,929 shares, indicating substantial decreases in their respective holdings.
• Analyst opinions on Ameriprise Financial are mixed, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Sell," and a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $534.71.

Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 766 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Plancorp LLC boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 441 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Heather J. Melloh sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.34, for a total transaction of $768,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,562 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,312,615.08. This trade represents a 36.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William F. Truscott sold 9,929 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.89, for a total value of $5,032,910.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,599,613.83. This represents a 47.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AMP shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $423.00 to $434.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. William Blair cut Ameriprise Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Ameriprise Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $518.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $534.71.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of AMP opened at $500.85 on Friday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $396.14 and a 1 year high of $582.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $516.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $503.22. The stock has a market cap of $47.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.27.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.00 by $0.11. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 65.90% and a net margin of 18.30%.The business had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.72 EPS. Ameriprise Financial's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

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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