Payden & Rygel Trims Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Payden & Rygel reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,800 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 1.7% of Payden & Rygel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in American Express were worth $19,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 5.8 %

AXP opened at $233.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $164.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $288.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America decreased their target price on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. HSBC lifted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’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 transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, 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. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.