Short Interest in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Rises By 30.0%

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,080,000 shares, an increase of 30.0% from the June 15th total of 830,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 463,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AMP opened at $445.80 on Tuesday. Ameriprise Financial has a 12-month low of $306.63 and a 12-month high of $449.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $433.25 and its 200 day moving average is $415.37.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $8.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.10 by $0.29. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 75.97% and a net margin of 19.42%. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Ameriprise Financial will post 34.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.07, for a total value of $657,105.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,818,770. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMP. Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 928.6% during the first quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 72 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $460.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $500.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $400.00 to $437.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $400.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $462.89.

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.