Amundi Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Amundi increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,179,171 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 248,515 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.31% of American Express worth $659,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $484,000. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in American Express by 4.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,012 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $177,097,000 after buying an additional 28,371 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $349,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. HSBC boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.

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Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of AXP traded down $11.94 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $261.27. 4,259,379 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,631,696. The company has a market capitalization of $183.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $305.44 and a 200 day moving average of $288.17. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.