Hancock Whitney Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $1,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,486,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 23,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,814,000 after acquiring an additional 9,173 shares during the period. Burling Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,002,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 88,818 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,289,000 after purchasing an additional 11,250 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William F. Truscott sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.29, for a total transaction of $3,241,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,576,486.67. This represents a 29.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 4,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.07, for a total value of $2,499,128.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,901,249.59. This trade represents a 39.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,636 shares of company stock valued at $6,263,989 in the last 90 days. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:AMP opened at $466.28 on Friday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $385.74 and a 52 week high of $582.05. The stock has a market cap of $44.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $486.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $522.10. 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 (NYSE:AMP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.17 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 69.35% and a net margin of 19.70%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $4.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. This is a boost from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered 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 reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded 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 report on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $517.44.

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.