Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Has $40.42 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,176 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $40,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the third 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 buying an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point dropped their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, 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 target price for the company. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.52.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $270.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $298.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.23. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $190.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued 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%. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.