Is Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (AMP) A Good Stock To Buy?

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Between June 25 and October 30th the Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) lagged the larger S&P 500 ETF (SPY) by more than 14 percentage points as investors worried over the possible ramifications of rising interest rates. The hedge funds and institutional investors we track typically invest more in smaller-cap stocks than an average investor, and we have seen data that shows those funds paring back their overall exposure. Those funds cutting positions in small-caps is one reason why volatility has increased. In the following paragraphs, we take a closer look at what hedge funds and prominent investors think of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) and see how the stock is affected by the recent hedge fund activity.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) investors should be aware of a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money recently. AMP was in 39 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 44 hedge funds in our database with AMP positions at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI), CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), and Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE:WPZ) to gather more data points.

Follow Ameriprise Financial Inc (NYSE:AMP)

In today’s marketplace, there are plenty of indicators investors put to use to value stocks. A duo of the most innovative indicators is composed of hedge fund and insider trading signals. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the best investment managers can outperform the broader indices by a very impressive amount (see the details here).

Keeping this in mind, let’s take a gander at the recent action regarding Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP).

How have hedgies been trading Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 39 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -11% from the second quarter. With hedgies’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group has the number one position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP), worth close to $245.3 million, corresponding to 0.2% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Viking Global, managed by Andreas Halvorsen, which holds a $174.2 million position; 0.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining professional money managers that hold long positions encompass Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital, Anand Parekh’s Alyeska Investment Group and Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management.

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