Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) Trading Down 4.4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Ameriprise shares fell 4.4% to about $511.94 on sharply lower-than-average trading volume, putting the stock below its 50-day moving average but above its 200-day average.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $555.33 price target. The company recently exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, with revenue up 11.6% year over year.
• Ameriprise pays a quarterly dividend of $1.70 per share, equal to a 1.3% annual yield, while insiders sold nearly $16.3 million of stock over the last quarter; institutional investors own 83.95% of shares.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) shares traded down 4.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $514.12 and last traded at $511.94. Approximately 127,757 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 639,325 shares. The stock had previously closed at $535.72.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $471.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $636.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Ameriprise Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameriprise Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.33.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $46.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $549.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $491.19.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.81 by $0.26. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 64.19% and a net margin of 20.24%.The company had revenue of $4.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.11 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 46.27 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Deirdre Mcgraw sold 2,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.28, for a total transaction of $1,339,872.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,883,078.44. This represents a 41.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Dawn Brockman sold 472 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.93, for a total value of $263,814.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $398,517.09. This represents a 39.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 29,988 shares of company stock worth $16,316,497 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMP. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $1,704,000. National Pension Service raised its position in Ameriprise Financial by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 165,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $81,172,000 after purchasing an additional 12,563 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 43.7% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 215,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,691,000 after purchasing an additional 65,400 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 2.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 817,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $374,920,000 after purchasing an additional 22,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 10.6% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 246,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $112,893,000 after buying an additional 23,618 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc NYSE: AMP is a diversified financial services company that provides financial planning, investment advice, wealth management and retirement solutions to individuals and institutions. Its offerings include brokerage and advisory accounts, managed investment portfolios, banking services, annuities, life insurance and other protection products.

The company serves clients primarily in the United States through its network of financial advisors and branded businesses, including Ameriprise Financial and RiverSource.

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