Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $29.94 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,863 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in American Express were worth $29,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’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 value 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. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $295.23 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $307.54 and its 200 day moving average is $284.65. American Express has a 1-year low of $212.48 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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 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 data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

About American Express

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.