American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Reduced by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership trimmed its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 817,028 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 23,624 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in American Express were worth $242,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Allianz SE bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,042,000. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,023,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $543,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 41,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,373,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its stake in American Express by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.43. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. 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 market cap of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

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.