Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 61,120 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 439,191 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 61,120 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of American Express worth $130,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in 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. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $284.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.59. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $199.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. 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%.

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.