LRT Capital Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

LRT Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 9.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,285,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,013,359,000 after purchasing an additional 358,699 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,231,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,200,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 4,636 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.12, for a total transaction of $523,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,231,200. The trade was a 9.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

Shares of AMP stock opened at $492.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $385.74 and a 52 week high of $582.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $476.70 and a 200-day moving average of $519.97.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last issued 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 $9.08 by $0.42. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 69.35%. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.39 earnings per share. Ameriprise Financial’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 dividend yield of 1.30%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.75%.

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.