Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Has $12.49 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 39.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,095 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 27,462 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’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 value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $277.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.99. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

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.