Umpqua Bank Has $686,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Umpqua Bank grew its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,284 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of AXP opened at $270.48 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $298.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.31. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $190.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.