Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP Stock Acquired by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 196.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,800 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $10,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 4,524.8% in the third quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 32,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,076,000 after purchasing an additional 31,945 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,162,000. Ballew Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,112,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,704,000. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 701.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 123,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,948,000 after purchasing an additional 108,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMP. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $560.00 to $595.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $562.00 to $524.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised Ameriprise Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $570.00 price objective (down from $616.00) on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $572.55.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

Ameriprise Financial stock opened at $500.91 on Friday. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $422.37 and a 12-month high of $572.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $533.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $497.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.81 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $4.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.87 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 20.24% and a return on equity of 64.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 46.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.40%.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, September 29th that allows the company to buy back $5.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dawn Brockman sold 472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.93, for a total transaction of $263,814.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $398,517.09. This trade represents a 39.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Walter Berman sold 11,012 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $548.95, for a total transaction of $6,045,037.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,079,060.55. The trade was a 66.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 29,988 shares of company stock worth $16,316,497 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ameriprise Financial

Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company provides financial planning, investment advice, wealth management, retirement planning and insurance solutions to individuals, families, business owners and institutional clients.

Ameriprise serves clients primarily through a network of financial advisors and offers products and services that include brokerage and advisory accounts, mutual funds and other investments, retirement accounts, annuities, life and long-term-care insurance, banking products and personalized financial planning.