BTC Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $4,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 0.2%

AMP traded up $0.92 on Monday, reaching $510.16. 495,244 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 493,602. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $48.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $385.74 and a 52-week high of $582.05. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $483.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $517.98.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.08 by $0.42. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 69.35%. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.39 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.