J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Has $2.80 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,417 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,156 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in American Express were worth $2,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth $1,296,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 8,031 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in American Express by 293.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,428 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $8,523,000 after purchasing an additional 23,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $264.79. 1,939,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,846,523. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $267.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.11. The company has a market cap of $185.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is currently 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.