Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 266,631 Shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 28.7%, now holding 1,195,703 shares worth approximately $578.85 million.
• Ameriprise Financial's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $9.11, surpassing estimates and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.2%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 19.91%, and a buyback plan allowing up to $4.50 billion in repurchases.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,195,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 266,631 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 1.25% of Ameriprise Financial worth $578,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 148.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 100.0% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 98 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMP. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $462.00 to $530.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $595.00 to $601.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. William Blair cut Ameriprise Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $518.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ameriprise Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $534.71.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AMP traded up $1.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $506.04. 61,580 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 507,589. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $396.14 and a 52 week 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 company has a market cap of $47.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $521.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $508.80.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.33 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 65.90% and a net margin of 18.30%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Ameriprise Financial's 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.