Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $376.86.

Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

NYSE AMP opened at $333.06 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $330.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $325.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Ameriprise Financial has a 12-month low of $275.09 and a 12-month high of $358.02. The firm has a market cap of $34.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.45.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 26th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 9.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Ameriprise Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMP. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 3.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,317,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,855,891,000 after buying an additional 322,614 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,651,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,544,937,000 after buying an additional 32,632 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,459,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $814,866,000 after buying an additional 50,320 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,375,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $739,686,000 after buying an additional 195,537 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Ameriprise Financial by 1.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,828,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $560,310,000 after buying an additional 17,431 shares during the period. 82.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameriprise Financial Company 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.