Groupe la Francaise Boosts Stock Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP

Groupe la Francaise raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 19,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,233 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $10,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $693,736,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 21.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,824,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,819,900,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023,002 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the first quarter worth about $469,334,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 55.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,244,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,086,724,000 after purchasing an additional 796,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 28.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,195,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $578,852,000 after purchasing an additional 266,631 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.94, for a total transaction of $676,410.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,382,050. This represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Heather J. Melloh sold 1,500 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $512.34, for a total transaction of $768,510.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,312,615.08. The trade was a 36.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 0.5%

AMP stock opened at $457.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $470.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $498.75. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $396.14 and a 12 month high of $582.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.26.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.76 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.51 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 64.97% and a net margin of 20.12%.Ameriprise Financial’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.02 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 24th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Ameriprise Financial’s payout ratio is presently 17.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AMP shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $530.00 to $484.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $587.00 to $570.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $525.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $550.00 to $530.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $533.22.

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.