LRT Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

LRT Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $510.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $415.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $518.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $517.13.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 0.6%

AMP stock opened at $492.09 on Monday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $385.74 and a 52 week high of $582.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $476.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $519.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.08 by $0.42. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 69.35%. The firm had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is an increase from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Ameriprise Financial’s payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.50 billion in outstanding 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 typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.