Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Buys 14,099 Shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP

Key Points

• Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker initiated a position in Ameriprise Financial by purchasing 14,099 shares valued at approximately $6.94 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.95% of AMP’s outstanding stock.
• Ameriprise reported quarterly earnings of $11.07 per share, exceeding estimates of $10.81, while revenue rose 11.6% year over year to $4.90 billion.
• The company authorized a $5.5 billion stock buyback, allowing repurchases of up to 12.3% of outstanding shares, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, or a 1.4% annualized yield.

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,942,000. Ameriprise Financial comprises approximately 2.7% of Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMP. State Street Corp increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 1,279.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,365,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,069,493,000 after buying an additional 58,772,775 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 960.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,352,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,537,817,000 after buying an additional 3,036,128 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 980.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,069,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,019,036,000 after buying an additional 1,878,244 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $925,211,000. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $575,767,000. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ameriprise Financial news, EVP Deirdre Mcgraw sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.28, for a total value of $1,339,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,373 shares in the company, valued at $1,883,078.44. This trade represents a 41.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider William Williams sold 8,210 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.35, for a total transaction of $4,428,063.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,656,793. This trade represents a 54.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,988 shares of company stock worth $16,316,497. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE AMP opened at $502.32 on Friday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $422.37 and a 12 month high of $572.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $534.72 and a 200-day moving average of $497.33. The company has a market cap of $45.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.16.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.81 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 20.24% and a return on equity of 64.19%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 46.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, September 29th that permits the company to repurchase $5.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMP shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $518.00 to $561.00 in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Argus lifted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $534.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $560.00 to $520.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ameriprise Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $562.00 to $524.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameriprise Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $572.55.

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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