Whalerock Point Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Whalerock Point Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 41.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

NYSE AMP opened at $466.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $385.74 and a 1-year high of $582.05. The company has a market cap of $44.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $486.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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 the consensus estimate of $9.17 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its board has approved 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 a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,231,200. This represents a 9.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William F. Truscott sold 6,000 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.29, for a total value of $3,241,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 14,023 shares in the company, valued at $7,576,486.67. This represents a 29.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,636 shares of company stock valued at $6,263,989. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMP. UBS Group cut shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $580.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James upgraded Ameriprise Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $518.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $415.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $517.44.

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.