Short Interest in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Decreases By 13.8%

Key Points

• Short interest decreased 13.8% — short interest fell to 2,874,258 shares as of March 13, representing 3.2% of shares sold short and a days-to-cover ratio of 4.8.
• Notable insider selling — company insiders sold a total of 16,658 shares valued at about $8,998,675 in the last three months, including CEO William F. Truscott’s sale of 5,000 shares; insiders now own 0.60% of the company.
• Mixed analyst view despite strong results — Ameriprise has a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" with a $555.67 price target, though some firms rate it higher; the company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and pays a $1.60 quarterly dividend (1.5% yield).

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,874,258 shares, a decrease of 13.8% from the February 26th total of 3,333,123 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 600,651 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Ameriprise Financial from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $434.00 to $530.00 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $582.00 target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameriprise Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $555.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, CEO William F. Truscott sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.08, for a total value of $2,660,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,464,239.92. This trade represents a 29.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gumer Alvero sold 4,658 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $542.88, for a total value of $2,528,735.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,508,648.48. This represents a 50.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 16,658 shares of company stock valued at $8,998,675 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Ameriprise Financial by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 777 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 11.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 14.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the second quarter valued at about $313,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 4.6% during the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,030 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

AMP stock traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $439.43. 103,338 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 687,723. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $477.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $479.77. Ameriprise Financial has a 12 month low of $396.14 and a 12 month high of $550.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.27.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.33 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 63.04% and a net margin of 19.28%.The company's revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial will post 38.64 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.60%.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm provides a range of advice-based wealth management, asset management and insurance products to individual and institutional clients. Its business model centers on delivering financial planning and investment advice through a network of financial advisors alongside proprietary product offerings designed to meet retirement, protection and accumulation needs.

Core products and services include comprehensive financial planning and advisory services, managed investment portfolios, retirement planning solutions, annuities and life insurance products.

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