American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stake Reduced by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,654 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 5,230 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $7,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was 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 worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Down 2.8 %

American Express stock traded down $8.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $295.23. The stock had a trading volume of 3,277,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,481,628. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $307.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.79. American Express has a twelve month low of $212.48 and a twelve month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.