American Express (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Trimmed by Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,519 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,237 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 4.8% of Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $35,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 430.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its position in American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’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 owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.24.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $266.04 on Friday. 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 has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27. The stock 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.97.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS 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%. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.