DnB Asset Management AS Has $31.60 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,468 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 4,033 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in American Express were worth $31,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $265.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $295.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.13. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.