Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Short Interest Up 29.2% in February

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, an increase of 29.2% from the January 31st total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 516,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 4,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.07, for a total transaction of $2,499,128.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,901,249.59. This trade represents a 39.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William F. Truscott sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.29, for a total transaction of $3,241,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,576,486.67. The trade was a 29.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,636 shares of company stock valued at $6,263,989. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AMP shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $415.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $580.00 to $570.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $514.89.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

Shares of Ameriprise Financial stock traded up $11.40 on Wednesday, reaching $509.57. The stock had a trading volume of 766,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,157. The business’s 50 day moving average is $538.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Ameriprise Financial has a 1 year low of $385.74 and a 1 year high of $582.05. The company has a market cap of $48.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $9.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.16 by $0.20. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 69.35%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ameriprise Financial will post 38.64 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 17.91%.

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.