Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) Sets New 52-Week High After Earnings Beat

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $577.89 and last traded at $576.60, with a volume of 60373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $571.84.

The financial services provider reported $9.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.16 by $0.20. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 69.46% and a net margin of 19.70%.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMP shares. UBS Group downgraded shares of 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $625.00 target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $565.00 to $560.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $503.22.

Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial

In other Ameriprise Financial news, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 8,655 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.16, for a total transaction of $4,882,804.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,615,701.44. The trade was a 57.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 10,735 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $549.68, for a total value of $5,900,814.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,811 shares in the company, valued at $3,194,190.48. This represents a 64.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Country Trust Bank lifted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 213.6% in the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 69 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $548.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $496.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $53.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.36.

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.