Wright Investors Service Inc. Buys New Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Wright Investors Service Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,462,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 49,248.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,114,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,023,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,109,824 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $689,272,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,801,913 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,556,683,000 after acquiring an additional 516,437 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 79,679.4% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 371,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,943,000 after acquiring an additional 371,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,268,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $675,344,000 after acquiring an additional 209,549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

AMP traded up $2.92 on Thursday, reaching $510.44. The stock had a trading volume of 259,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,356. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.74 and a fifty-two week high of $582.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $484.03 and a 200-day moving average of $517.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $48.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.24.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.08 by $0.42. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 69.35% and a net margin of 19.70%. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.39 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $1.60 dividend. This is a boost from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.75%.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.