Sierra Ocean LLC Invests $40,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 133 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE AXP opened at $311.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 1 year low of $209.10 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $306.96 and its 200 day moving average is $282.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research raised their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point lowered their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

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.