Independence Bank of Kentucky Raises Holdings in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) by 56.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMP. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, American National Bank increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 116.3% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank now owns 106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $437.00 to $488.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $420.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $400.00 to $437.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ameriprise Financial from $500.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $456.22.

Insider Activity at Ameriprise Financial

In related news, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.07, for a total value of $657,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,818,770. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AMP stock traded down $3.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $427.19. 1,293,190 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,545. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $306.63 and a fifty-two week high of $446.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $428.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $410.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $42.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.36.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $8.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.10 by $0.29. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 75.97% and a net margin of 19.42%. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 34.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Ameriprise Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.15%.

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.