Holowesko Partners Ltd. Sells 1,200 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Holowesko Partners Ltd. lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,400 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 0.3% of Holowesko Partners Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Holowesko Partners Ltd.'s holdings in American Express were worth $712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Express by 430.6% during the third 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 shares of American Express by 3.7% in the fourth 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. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $3.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $274.39. 1,173,891 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,812,388. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The business's fifty day moving average price is $293.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.86. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.