Short Interest in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Grows By 7.2%

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) was the recipient of a large 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 trading volume of 467,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $485.00 to $476.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $490.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $475.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $487.67.

Insider Activity

In other Ameriprise Financial news, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 8,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.16, for a total transaction of $4,882,804.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 10,735 shares of Ameriprise Financial 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 directly owns 5,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,194,190.48. The trade was a 64.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,715 shares of company stock worth $11,983,436. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,285,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,013,359,000 after acquiring an additional 358,699 shares in the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the third quarter valued at about $98,742,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 144.0% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 243,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,345,000 after purchasing an additional 143,648 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 35.4% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 504,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,584,000 after purchasing an additional 131,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 10.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,129,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $482,588,000 after buying an additional 110,319 shares during the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AMP opened at $532.43 on Thursday. 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 has a 1-year low of $368.41 and a 1-year high of $577.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $545.75 and a 200 day moving average of $481.19. The firm has a market cap of $51.65 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.34.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.