Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Takes Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. initiated a new position in Ameriprise Financial, buying 31,446 shares valued at about $15.4 million in the fourth quarter. Institutional ownership remains high, with investors holding 83.95% of the stock.
• Ameriprise reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $11.26 EPS versus the $10.21 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year to $4.77 billion. Analysts now expect the company to generate 42.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.70 per share from $1.60, implying an annualized yield of about 1.5%. However, recent insider sales by a director and an EVP may signal some caution at current share levels.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 31,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,426,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMP. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 777.8% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 79 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $582.00 price objective on Ameriprise Financial and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $452.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Ameriprise Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $543.22.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

AMP opened at $445.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $422.37 and a 1-year high of $550.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $455.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $473.05.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.05. The firm had revenue of $4.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.82 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 62.88% and a net margin of 20.57%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $9.50 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 42.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Ameriprise Financial's payout ratio is currently 16.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameriprise Financial news, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.83, for a total value of $558,996.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,300 shares in the company, valued at $2,934,729. This represents a 16.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gerard P. Smyth sold 6,255 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.52, for a total value of $2,955,612.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,883,789.56. This trade represents a 50.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm provides a range of advice-based wealth management, asset management and insurance products to individual and institutional clients. Its business model centers on delivering financial planning and investment advice through a network of financial advisors alongside proprietary product offerings designed to meet retirement, protection and accumulation needs.

Core products and services include comprehensive financial planning and advisory services, managed investment portfolios, retirement planning solutions, annuities and life insurance products.

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