45,016 Shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. $AMP Acquired by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 45,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,164,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 4,524.8% during the 3rd quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 32,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,076,000 after buying an additional 31,945 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,162,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,704,000. Ballew Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,112,000. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 701.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 123,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,948,000 after acquiring an additional 108,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

NYSE:AMP opened at $496.19 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $535.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $496.87. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $422.37 and a 52 week high of $572.56. The stock has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $11.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.81 by $0.26. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 64.19% and a net margin of 20.24%. The firm had revenue of $4.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.11 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 46.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.40%.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 29th that authorizes the company to buy back $5.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $489.00 to $483.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $582.00 to $638.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $625.00 to $623.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $518.00 to $561.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $572.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameriprise Financial news, CFO Walter Berman sold 11,012 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $548.95, for a total transaction of $6,045,037.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,079,060.55. This trade represents a 66.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider William Williams sold 8,210 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.35, for a total transaction of $4,428,063.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,656,793. The trade was a 54.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,988 shares of company stock valued at $16,316,497. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ameriprise Financial

Ameriprise Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company provides financial planning, investment advice, wealth management, retirement planning and insurance solutions to individuals, families, business owners and institutional clients.

Ameriprise serves clients primarily through a network of financial advisors and offers products and services that include brokerage and advisory accounts, mutual funds and other investments, retirement accounts, annuities, life and long-term-care insurance, banking products and personalized financial planning.