Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Buys 11,250 Shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP - Free Report) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 88,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,250 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.09% of Ameriprise Financial worth $47,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company's stock.

Ameriprise Financial Price Performance

Shares of AMP traded down $7.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $466.28. 528,374 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 491,183. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $486.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $522.51. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $385.74 and a 52-week high of $582.05. The company has a market cap of $44.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE:AMP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.17 by $0.33. Ameriprise Financial had a return on equity of 69.35% and a net margin of 19.70%. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 38.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameriprise Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $4.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameriprise Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameriprise Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Ameriprise Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.75%.

Insider Transactions at Ameriprise Financial

In other news, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 4,636 shares of Ameriprise Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $539.07, for a total transaction of $2,499,128.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,901,249.59. The trade was a 39.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Francis Sharpe, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.12, for a total value of $523,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,231,200. This trade represents a 9.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,636 shares of company stock worth $6,263,989. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $518.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $570.00 to $520.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective on shares of Ameriprise Financial in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut shares of Ameriprise Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $580.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $507.00 to $542.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameriprise Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $517.44.

About Ameriprise Financial

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.