Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) Price Target to $520.00

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $510.00 to $520.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

AMP has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $415.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James raised shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $518.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $517.13.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

AMP stock opened at $492.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $47.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $476.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $519.86. Ameriprise Financial has a 1-year low of $385.74 and a 1-year high of $582.05.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.08 by $0.42. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 69.35%. The company had revenue of $4.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ameriprise Financial will post 38.64 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors 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 1.30%. This is a boost from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Ameriprise Financial’s payout ratio is currently 21.75%.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,231,200. This trade represents a 9.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $539.07, for a total transaction of $2,499,128.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,901,249.59. This trade represents a 39.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMP. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

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.