Smith Group Asset Management LLC Has $34.90 Million Stock Holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial accounts for about 2.6% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Smith Group Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Ameriprise Financial worth $34,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 48.2% in the 1st quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 9.7% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 7,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,751,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $250,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 41.9% in the 1st quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 20,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,855,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 1.2%

AMP stock opened at $534.26 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $503.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $510.95. The company has a market capitalization of $50.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.74 and a fifty-two week high of $582.05.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.08 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 68.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a boost from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Ameriprise Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $518.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $519.00.

About Ameriprise Financial

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.

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