Wellington Management Group LLP Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,857,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 216,855 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 0.9% of Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,706,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial started 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Monday. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $295.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, 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 current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % 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, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.