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

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in 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. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 467,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

Ameriprise Financial stock traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $532.43. 268,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 471,803. The firm has a market cap of $51.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $545.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $481.19. Ameriprise Financial has a 12 month low of $368.41 and a 12 month high of $577.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 10,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,194,190.48. This represents a 64.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 8,655 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.16, for a total value of $4,882,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,615,701.44. This represents a 57.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,715 shares of company stock valued at $11,983,436 over the last three months. 0.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 153.8% in the second quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Country Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 213.6% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 69 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $475.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $535.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $485.00 to $476.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $487.67.

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.