Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $280,000 Stock Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,285,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,013,359,000 after buying an additional 358,699 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth $109,000. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth $3,907,000. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,029,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth $943,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

AMP stock opened at $524.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $479.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $520.19. The stock has a market cap of $49.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.74 and a 1 year high of $582.05.

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

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 1.22%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.75%.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,237 shares in the company, valued at $3,901,249.59. This trade represents a 39.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.