Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the October 31st total of 1,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 442,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of AMP traded down $5.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $560.29. 142,161 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 469,300. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $54.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.34. Ameriprise Financial has a 52-week low of $349.90 and a 52-week high of $577.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $525.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.01.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 8,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.16, for a total value of $4,882,804.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,615,701.44. The trade was a 57.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 10,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $549.68, for a total value of $5,900,814.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,194,190.48. This represents a 64.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,715 shares of company stock worth $11,983,436. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maj Invest Holding A S purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $98,742,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 144.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 243,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,345,000 after purchasing an additional 143,648 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 35.4% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,129,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $482,588,000 after purchasing an additional 110,319 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $456,890,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMP. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $485.00 to $476.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $490.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $475.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $535.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $487.67.

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.