American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp cut its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,122 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $292,081,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

American Express Stock Up 3.7 %

AXP opened at $266.04 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $301.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $186.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.