Short Interest in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Declines By 13.8%

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,874,258 shares, a decline of 13.8% from the February 26th total of 3,333,123 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 600,651 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial

In other Ameriprise Financial news, insider Gumer Alvero sold 4,658 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $542.88, for a total value of $2,528,735.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,508,648.48. The trade was a 50.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William F. Truscott sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.08, for a total transaction of $2,660,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,149 shares in the company, valued at $6,464,239.92. This represents a 29.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,658 shares of company stock worth $8,998,675. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameriprise Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMP. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 104.2% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,946,000 after buying an additional 2,022 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 152,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,151,000 after acquiring an additional 6,724 shares during the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $453,000. Arjuna Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 12,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Ameriprise Financial by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 63,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,361,000 after acquiring an additional 29,116 shares during the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMP has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $484.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $582.00 price target on Ameriprise Financial and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $555.67.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

Shares of Ameriprise Financial stock traded down $10.45 on Wednesday, reaching $433.95. 41,011 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 685,947. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $39.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $476.15 and its 200-day moving average is $479.39. Ameriprise Financial has a one year low of $396.14 and a one year high of $550.18.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.33 by $0.50. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 63.04%. The business had revenue of $4.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.60%.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm provides a range of advice-based wealth management, asset management and insurance products to individual and institutional clients. Its business model centers on delivering financial planning and investment advice through a network of financial advisors alongside proprietary product offerings designed to meet retirement, protection and accumulation needs.

Core products and services include comprehensive financial planning and advisory services, managed investment portfolios, retirement planning solutions, annuities and life insurance products.