Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 25,493 Shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its stake in Ameriprise by 10.4%, selling 25,493 shares and ending the period with 219,371 shares (about 0.24% of the company) valued at roughly $107.6 million.
• Ameriprise beat quarterly EPS estimates ($11.26 vs. $10.21) with 9.7% YoY revenue growth to $4.77 billion and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.70 (annualized $6.80, yield 1.4%, ex-dividend May 4).
• Wall Street's consensus rating is a Hold with a $543.22 price target, reflecting mixed analyst views while insiders have recently trimmed positions.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 219,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,493 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Ameriprise Financial worth $107,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMP. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 1,440.2% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 466,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $228,572,000 after acquiring an additional 435,885 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Ameriprise Financial by 140.5% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 471,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $231,805,000 after purchasing an additional 275,659 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its position in Ameriprise Financial by 687.4% during the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 276,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,989,000 after purchasing an additional 241,665 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 29.3% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 966,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $474,628,000 after purchasing an additional 219,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 463,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $227,652,000 after purchasing an additional 203,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMP has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $452.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $460.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $543.22.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AMP stock opened at $475.33 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $455.30 and a 200 day moving average of $474.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $422.37 and a 1-year high of $550.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.20.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.21 by $1.05. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 62.88% and a net margin of 20.57%.The business had revenue of $4.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.50 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 42.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.60. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameriprise Financial news, CEO William F. Truscott sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.08, for a total transaction of $2,660,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,149 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,464,239.92. This represents a 29.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gumer Alvero sold 4,658 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $542.88, for a total transaction of $2,528,735.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,508,648.48. This trade represents a 50.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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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