Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Increases Stock Position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 35.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 138,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,488 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV owned approximately 0.13% of Ameriprise Financial worth $42,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the first quarter worth $53,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 45,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,523,000 after purchasing an additional 8,625 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $724,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 2,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. 82.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMP shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $385.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $361.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 13,042 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.55, for a total transaction of $4,584,915.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 8,048 shares in the company, valued at $2,829,274.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ameriprise Financial news, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 13,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $351.55, for a total value of $4,584,915.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 8,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,829,274.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James M. Cracchiolo sold 9,616 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $354.00, for a total value of $3,404,064.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,103 shares in the company, valued at $55,614,462. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

Ameriprise Financial stock opened at $345.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $341.70 and a 200-day moving average of $320.68. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.35 and a 52-week high of $358.02.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $7.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.29 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 82.23% and a net margin of 15.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.81 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 29.94 EPS for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 7th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Ameriprise Financial’s payout ratio is 25.36%.

Ameriprise Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 26th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 9.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc, through 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.