Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Short Interest Update

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,190,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the November 30th total of 1,110,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 467,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

AMP opened at $532.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $51.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $545.75 and its 200 day moving average is $481.19. Ameriprise Financial has a fifty-two week low of $368.41 and a fifty-two week high of $577.00.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 10,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,194,190.48. This trade represents a 64.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 8,655 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 6,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,615,701.44. This trade represents a 57.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,715 shares of company stock worth $11,983,436 over the last 90 days. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMP. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 153.8% during the second quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Country Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 213.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the third quarter worth about $45,000. 83.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AMP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $475.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $535.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $485.00 to $476.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $502.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $490.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $487.67.

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.