Welch & Forbes LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 196,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,014 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial accounts for about 1.1% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $74,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameriprise Financial

In other Ameriprise Financial news, CEO James M. Cracchiolo sold 2,493 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.11, for a total value of $999,967.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 196,598 shares in the company, valued at $78,857,423.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO James M. Cracchiolo sold 2,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.11, for a total value of $999,967.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 196,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,857,423.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.60, for a total value of $1,546,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,832,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 74,326 shares of company stock valued at $29,775,593. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $360.00 to $392.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $437.00 to $488.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $400.00 to $437.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $450.88.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

Shares of AMP stock traded up $6.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $425.01. 436,022 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 497,030. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $286.58 and a 12-month high of $440.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $420.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $385.34.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $8.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.10 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.15 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 75.97% and a net margin of 19.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 34.74 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.15%.

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.