Equity Investment Corp Has $71.92 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Equity Investment Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 242,325 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 9,844 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $71,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’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 trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $295.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $307.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.93. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point cut their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.