First Trust Advisors LP Has $219.43 Million Stock Holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Ameriprise to 446,683 shares (about 0.48% of the company) valued at $219.43 million after buying 33,717 shares in Q3.
• Ameriprise beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $10.83 (vs. $10.33) and $4.92 billion in revenue (up 10.2% YoY), yet analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target of $555.67.
• Insiders sold 16,658 shares (~$9.0 million) in the last quarter, including CEO William Truscott's sale of 5,000 shares, leaving insiders owning 0.73% of the company.

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 446,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,717 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.48% of Ameriprise Financial worth $219,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Ameriprise Financial by 11.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,915,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 14.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $313,000. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $568.00 to $554.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $484.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $605.00 price objective (up from $580.00) on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $555.67.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of AMP stock opened at $464.84 on Friday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $396.14 and a 12-month high of $550.18. The company has a market capitalization of $42.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $495.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $487.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.33 by $0.50. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 63.04% and a net margin of 19.28%.The company had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ameriprise Financial's payout ratio is currently 17.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameriprise Financial

In other news, CEO William F. Truscott sold 5,000 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.08, for a total value of $2,660,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,464,239.92. The trade was a 29.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Gumer Alvero sold 4,658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $542.88, for a total value of $2,528,735.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,508,648.48. This trade represents a 50.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 16,658 shares of company stock valued at $8,998,675 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

About Ameriprise Financial

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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