Vinva Investment Management Ltd Reduces Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,836 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,524 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position 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 valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position 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 valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its position 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 valued at $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its position 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 valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 3.0 %

AXP stock opened at $270.66 on Thursday. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $299.41 and a 200-day moving average of $288.35.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Compass Point lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.52.

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.