Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,867 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,144 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $70,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment House LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 99,605 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,562,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in American Express by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 11,616 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after acquiring an additional 6,792 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $322,000. Finally, Stokes Family Office LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 8,304 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,464,000 after buying an additional 2,922 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

American Express Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE AXP opened at $270.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $190.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, 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 has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $299.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.35.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.