JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its Ameriprise Financial stake by 32.1% in the fourth quarter, though it still held about 3.51% of the company worth roughly $1.6 billion.
• Ameriprise reported strong first-quarter earnings of $11.26 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 9.7% year over year to $4.77 billion.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.70 per share from $1.60, while Wall Street’s overall view remains Hold with an average target price of $543.22.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 32.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,261,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,543,309 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 3.51% of Ameriprise Financial worth $1,599,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SouthState Bank Corp grew its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 78.6% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 50 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gerard P. Smyth sold 6,255 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $472.52, for a total transaction of $2,955,612.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,103 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,883,789.56. This represents a 50.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.83, for a total value of $558,996.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,934,729. The trade was a 16.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

AMP opened at $448.83 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $455.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $472.75. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $422.37 and a 12-month high of $550.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.16.

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

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Ameriprise Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $582.00 price target on Ameriprise Financial and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $460.00 to $471.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameriprise Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $543.22.

Ameriprise Financial 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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