Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $1.52 Million Investment in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial, purchasing 3,130 shares valued at approximately $1,515,000.
• Ameriprise Financial recently reported $9.11 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $4.49 billion, reflecting a 2.2% increase year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $4.50 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence from the board regarding the stock’s value.

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,515,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,824,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,819,900,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023,002 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 4.1% during the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $901,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the first quarter valued at about $2,918,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the first quarter valued at about $48,000. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameriprise Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $518.00 to $582.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $595.00 to $601.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, William Blair cut Ameriprise Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $534.71.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AMP traded up $10.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $516.65. 371,172 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 436,064. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $396.14 and a 12-month high of $582.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. The business's fifty day moving average price is $521.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $508.46.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.00 by $0.11. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 65.90% and a net margin of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.72 earnings per share. Ameriprise Financial's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.