Legal & General Group Plc Has $1.11 Billion Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,725,145 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,240,390 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.53% of American Express worth $1,105,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,785,867,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $292,081,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,517,668 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $450,429,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,484,312,000 after buying an additional 268,572 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded up $4.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $251.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,412,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,881,151. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $279.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.26. American Express has a 52 week low of $216.12 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $176.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

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 (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%. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Compass Point reduced their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.81.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.