American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 648,184 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 25,842 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.09% of American Express worth $192,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $275.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $193.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, 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 has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $296.76 and a 200 day moving average of $289.15.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. 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 currently 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.