Focused Investors LLC Has $132.67 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Focused Investors LLC decreased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 447,000 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 3,400 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 4.2% of Focused Investors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Focused Investors LLC owned about 0.06% of American Express worth $132,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % 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.

Remove Ads

American Express Trading Down 0.3 %

AXP traded down $0.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $275.11. 329,088 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,620,715. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $296.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Compass Point reduced their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $302.57.

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.