First Merchants Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

First Merchants Corp reduced its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,183 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 538 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp's holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $5,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 488.5% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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 worth $12,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMP. Wall Street Zen raised Ameriprise Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $518.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $517.13.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AMP traded up $3.02 on Friday, hitting $528.50. 654,277 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 498,802. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.24. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.74 and a 12 month high of $582.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $501.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $511.71.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.08 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 68.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.39 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This is an increase from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Ameriprise Financial's payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.