Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,160,000 shares, a decline of 18.9% from the February 28th total of 1,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 545,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AMP traded up $5.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $494.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 460,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,143. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $521.80 and its 200-day moving average is $524.35. Ameriprise Financial has a 52-week low of $385.74 and a 52-week high of $582.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.33.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $9.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.16 by $0.20. 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 will post 38.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 4,636 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 7,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,901,249.59. This represents a 39.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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. Insiders have sold a total of 11,636 shares of company stock worth $6,263,989 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMP. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 71.5% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 22.5% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 3,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 784.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 2,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co increased its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 27.7% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 1,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $580.00 to $570.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of 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 upped their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $514.89.

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.