Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 27.3% during the first quarter, now holding 5,531 shares valued at approximately $2.68 million.
• Ameriprise Financial reported earnings of $9.11 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%.
• The company has initiated a $4.50 billion share buyback program, indicative of management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,082 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $2,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 238,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,437,000 after purchasing an additional 13,041 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 8.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 137,265 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,414,000 after buying an additional 10,234 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Ameriprise Financial by 7.0% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 32,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,583,000 after acquiring an additional 2,105 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 45,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,903,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 562.5% during the 1st quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

AMP traded down $10.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $502.75. 424,794 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 435,926. The company has a market cap of $47.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $396.14 and a 12-month high of $582.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $521.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $506.90.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.00 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 18.30% and a return on equity of 65.90%. Ameriprise Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Ameriprise Financial's payout ratio is 19.91%.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.