New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Decreases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,763 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in American Express were worth $7,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management boosted its position in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.9 %

AXP stock traded down $2.95 on Wednesday, hitting $309.90. 2,147,517 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,445,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a twelve month low of $209.10 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The business's fifty day moving average is $307.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $283.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.38.

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.