First Trust Advisors LP Buys 33,717 Shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 8.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 446,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,717 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $219,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 104.2% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in Ameriprise Financial by 4.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 152,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,724 shares during the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the third quarter valued at about $453,000. Arjuna Capital raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 14.6% during the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 12,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 83.9% during the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 63,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,361,000 after acquiring an additional 29,116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

Ameriprise Financial stock opened at $464.84 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $495.95 and a 200-day moving average of $487.09. The company has a market capitalization of $42.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.27. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $396.14 and a 1 year 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.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.33 by $0.50. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 63.04%. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Ameriprise Financial’s payout ratio is 17.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMP shares. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $568.00 to $554.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $582.00 price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $484.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $555.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William F. Truscott sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.08, for a total transaction of $2,660,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,464,239.92. This trade represents a 29.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gumer Alvero sold 4,658 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $542.88, for a total value of $2,528,735.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,508,648.48. The trade was a 50.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 16,658 shares of company stock valued at $8,998,675 over the last 90 days. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ameriprise Financial

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.