Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP Shares Acquired by Howard Capital Management LLC

Howard Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 1,433.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,474 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $4,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 7.7% in the third quarter. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,974,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,484,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $196,770,000. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ameriprise Financial by 3,585.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,075,000 after purchasing an additional 15,956 shares during the period. Finally, Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,457,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

AMP traded down $1.67 on Friday, reaching $500.91. 581,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 647,053. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $533.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $497.36. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $422.37 and a fifty-two week high of $572.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.16.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.81 by $0.26. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 64.19% and a net margin of 20.24%. The business had revenue of $4.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 46.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 29th that permits the company to buy back $5.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Deirdre Mcgraw sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.28, for a total transaction of $1,339,872.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,883,078.44. This trade represents a 41.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Dawn Brockman sold 472 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.93, for a total transaction of $263,814.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $398,517.09. This trade represents a 39.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,988 shares of company stock worth $16,316,497. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AMP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore cut their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $625.00 to $623.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $570.00 price objective (down from $616.00) on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $582.00 to $638.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $572.55.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company provides financial planning, investment advice, wealth management, retirement planning and insurance solutions to individuals, families, business owners and institutional clients.

Ameriprise serves clients primarily through a network of financial advisors and offers products and services that include brokerage and advisory accounts, mutual funds and other investments, retirement accounts, annuities, life and long-term-care insurance, banking products and personalized financial planning.