BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Buys Shares of 35,312 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 35,312 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $10,480,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded up $7.30 on Thursday, reaching $267.44. The company had a trading volume of 2,695,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,858,357. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company's fifty day moving average is $269.48 and its 200 day moving average is $287.18. The company has a market cap of $187.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. 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 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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.