American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 386,773 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,887 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in American Express were worth $114,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $315.97 on Wednesday. American Express has a twelve month low of $203.42 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $222.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $305.20 and a 200-day moving average of $278.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

About American Express

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.