Lawood & Co. Makes New Investment in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP

Key Points

• Lawood & Co. acquired 23,634 Ameriprise Financial shares worth approximately $11.6 million, making AMP about 7% of its portfolio and its third-largest holding. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 83.95% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558, compared with AMP’s recent trading price of $501.51.
• Ameriprise exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $11.07 in EPS and $4.90 billion in revenue. The company also pays a $1.70 quarterly dividend and authorized a $5.5 billion share buyback covering up to 12.3% of outstanding shares.

Lawood & Co. acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 23,634 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,636,000. Ameriprise Financial makes up about 7.0% of Lawood & Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMP. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 1,279.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,365,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,069,493,000 after purchasing an additional 58,772,775 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 960.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,352,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,537,817,000 after buying an additional 3,036,128 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $925,211,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $575,767,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,024,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $455,387,000 after acquiring an additional 19,731 shares in the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AMP. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $471.00 to $518.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $636.00 to $645.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research cut Ameriprise Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $560.00 to $520.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $570.00 target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $558.00.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

Shares of AMP traded up $2.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $501.51. The stock had a trading volume of 144,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 642,012. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $422.37 and a 12 month high of $572.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $540.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.47.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.81 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.87 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 64.19% and a net margin of 20.24%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.11 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 46.14 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.40%.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, September 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, EVP Deirdre Mcgraw sold 2,400 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.28, for a total transaction of $1,339,872.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,373 shares in the company, valued at $1,883,078.44. This trade represents a 41.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dawn Brockman sold 472 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.93, for a total transaction of $263,814.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 713 shares in the company, valued at $398,517.09. The trade was a 39.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,988 shares of company stock worth $16,316,497 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

About Ameriprise Financial

Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company provides financial planning, investment advice, wealth management, retirement planning and insurance solutions to individuals, families, business owners and institutional clients.

Ameriprise serves clients primarily through a network of financial advisors and offers products and services that include brokerage and advisory accounts, mutual funds and other investments, retirement accounts, annuities, life and long-term-care insurance, banking products and personalized financial planning.

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