Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 675,442 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 38,561 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.10% of American Express worth $200,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its position in American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’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 value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $270.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $293.20 and a 200-day moving average of $289.86. The stock has a market cap of $189.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. 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 results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.