Vest Financial LLC Makes New $28.14 Million Investment in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 58,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,142,000. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Ameriprise Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 70 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,683 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,419,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,484 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 660 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE AMP traded up $10.56 on Friday, reaching $518.95. The company had a trading volume of 326,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,599. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $485.10 and a 200-day moving average of $516.83. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.74 and a 1 year high of $582.05.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.08 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.45 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 69.35% and a net margin of 19.70%. The business's revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is a positive change from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $4.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameriprise Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James upgraded Ameriprise Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $518.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $517.13.

Ameriprise Financial Profile

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.