Leavell Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,943 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 86,100 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the third 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 3rd 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 valued at $1,249,415,000 after purchasing an additional 239,173 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in American Express by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after buying an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $306.46 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $306.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.25. American Express has a 1 year low of $207.61 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $215.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.