Short Interest in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Decreases By 7.6%

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,100,000 shares, a decrease of 7.6% from the December 15th total of 1,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 452,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameriprise Financial

In other Ameriprise Financial news, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 10,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $549.68, for a total transaction of $5,900,814.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,194,190.48. This trade represents a 64.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $4,882,804.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,409 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,715 shares of company stock valued at $11,983,436. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMP. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the third quarter worth 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the third quarter worth $45,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AMP traded up $5.18 on Friday, hitting $551.61. The company had a trading volume of 941,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,304. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Ameriprise Financial has a 12-month low of $369.29 and a 12-month high of $577.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $548.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $488.98.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $565.00 to $560.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $535.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $485.00 to $476.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. UBS Group lowered Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $580.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $502.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $494.89.

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.