American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 87,571 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 805 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in American Express were worth $25,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $292,081,000. FMR LLC increased its position in American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 35,213.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after acquiring an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in American Express by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Three research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $261.19 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $303.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.10. The company has a market capitalization of $183.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27. 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 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

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.