Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Raises Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 96.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,626 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 15,998 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 0.9% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in American Express were worth $9,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, 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 transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded down $8.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $295.23. 3,277,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,481,628. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $307.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $284.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. 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 1-year low of $212.48 and a 1-year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

American Express Company 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.