Colonial Trust Co SC Acquires 81 Shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $510,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Ameriprise Financial stock opened at $480.28 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $477.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $520.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $385.74 and a 52 week high of $582.05.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.08 by $0.42. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 69.35% and a net margin of 19.70%. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is a positive change from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.75%.

Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial

In other Ameriprise Financial news, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.12, for a total value of $523,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,231,200. The trade was a 9.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 4,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.07, for a total value of $2,499,128.52. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,901,249.59. This represents a 39.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AMP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $518.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $415.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameriprise Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $517.13.

Ameriprise Financial Profile

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.