Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $2.15 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,258 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 977 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $261.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.10. The stock has a market cap of $183.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company 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.