Purus Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Purus Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,972 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 83 shares during the quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 16,132 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,788,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. Bremer Bank National Association raised its position in American Express by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Bremer Bank National Association now owns 22,452 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,664,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Willner & Heller LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Trueblood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,367 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $999,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $312.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 12 month low of $177.81 and a 12 month high of $315.40. The stock has a market cap of $220.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $299.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.98.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, HSBC cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.09.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.