Vest Financial LLC Takes Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 58,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,142,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMP. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:AMP opened at $518.95 on Friday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.74 and a 1 year high of $582.05. The stock has a market cap of $49.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.24. 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 50-day simple moving average of $485.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $516.83.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $8.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. 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 1.23%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMP. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $518.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $517.13.

Ameriprise Financial Company 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.