American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 340,965 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,723 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in American Express were worth $101,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in American Express by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC raised its position in American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity 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 stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Compass Point dropped their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $11.94 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $261.27. The company had a trading volume of 4,273,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,632,304. The business has a 50 day moving average of $305.44 and a 200-day moving average of $288.17. The company has a market cap 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. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

American Express 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.