Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Raises Stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,801,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,556,683,000 after purchasing an additional 516,437 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ameriprise Financial by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,647,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,407,607,000 after buying an additional 38,141 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $689,272,000. Amundi increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 642,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,546,000 after buying an additional 208,195 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ameriprise Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 602,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,692,000 after buying an additional 5,048 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AMP shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $580.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $570.00 to $520.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James raised 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 issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $517.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 4,636 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,901,249.59. The trade was a 39.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 value of $523,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,231,200. This trade represents a 9.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,636 shares of company stock valued at $6,263,989. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of AMP stock opened at $466.28 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $44.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.74 and a fifty-two week high of $582.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $486.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $522.29.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last announced 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 $9.17 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 69.35%. On average, analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.75%.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.