Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) Rating Lowered to Neutral at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $476.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $485.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $500.00 to $495.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $444.00 to $440.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $470.00 to $460.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $500.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $487.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $463.00.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMP opened at $468.62 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $434.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $430.50. Ameriprise Financial has a fifty-two week low of $306.63 and a fifty-two week high of $471.57. The company has a market capitalization of $46.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $8.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.24 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 18.64% and a return on equity of 73.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial will post 34.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Ameriprise Financial’s payout ratio is 20.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP William Davies sold 8,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.07, for a total transaction of $3,846,009.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,834,881.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,844,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,685,436,000 after buying an additional 603,267 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 1,001.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 564,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,266,000 after acquiring an additional 512,884 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $108,938,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 382,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $145,183,000 after purchasing an additional 195,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 35.4% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 504,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,584,000 after purchasing an additional 131,844 shares during the period. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.