Highland Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,286,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMP. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 97.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 50,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,730,000 after buying an additional 24,968 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,768,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 136.3% during the 3rd quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,521,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $458,000. 83.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 8,655 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.16, for a total value of $4,882,804.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,409 shares in the company, valued at $3,615,701.44. The trade was a 57.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 10,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $549.68, for a total transaction of $5,900,814.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,194,190.48. The trade was a 64.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMP. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $565.00 to $560.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $580.00 to $570.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $503.22.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

NYSE AMP opened at $547.95 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $548.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $496.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $378.05 and a 1 year high of $582.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.36.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $9.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.16 by $0.20. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 15.99% and a return on equity of 68.52%. Analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Ameriprise Financial’s payout ratio is currently 22.73%.

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.