Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $535.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $490.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $485.00 to $476.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $475.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $502.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $487.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 8,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.16, for a total value of $4,882,804.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,409 shares in the company, valued at $3,615,701.44. This trade represents a 57.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gumer Alvero sold 2,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $516.05, for a total value of $1,199,816.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,669 shares in the company, valued at $2,409,437.45. This trade represents a 33.24 % 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 valued at $11,983,436 over the last ninety days. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameriprise Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geller Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 0.9% during the second quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 2,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ameriprise Financial stock traded up $1.89 on Wednesday, hitting $532.43. 268,951 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 471,803. 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’s 50-day moving average is $545.75 and its 200 day moving average is $481.19. The stock has a market cap of $51.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.34. Ameriprise Financial has a 52-week low of $368.41 and a 52-week high of $577.00.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.