Wintrust Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wintrust Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 41.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 535 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the period. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after acquiring an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after purchasing an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $261.19 on Thursday. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $303.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.10. The firm has a market cap of $183.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Citigroup boosted their target price 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 increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point lowered their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BTIG Research increased 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express 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.