State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,270 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,625 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in American Express were worth $62,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in American Express by 5.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after acquiring an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in American Express by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $311.37 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $306.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $209.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $218.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BTIG Research lifted their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.