American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Reduced by BLB&B Advisors LLC

BLB&B Advisors LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,896 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in American Express by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 8,147 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 3,705 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,164,000. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $289,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,920,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $316.72 on Friday. American Express has a 12 month low of $207.61 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $223.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $306.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $279.30.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point reduced their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

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 transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value 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 approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About American Express

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.