American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Dodge & Cox

Dodge & Cox decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 399,340 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 11,325 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox owned about 0.06% of American Express worth $118,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 9,026 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Kane Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $817,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $24,303,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 12,816 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,804,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in American Express by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 146,179 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $43,384,000 after acquiring an additional 4,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:AXP traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $251.48. 3,906,748 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,867,825. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $272.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.71. The company has a market capitalization of $176.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $310.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. As part of a broader Q1 preview for Consumer Finance, RBC anticipates seasonally-driven trends with lower loans and volumes, stable credit performance, and possibly elevated loan loss provisions due to uncertainty. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $294.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.