Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 1,753 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,524 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $4,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position 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 bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $5.84 on Thursday, hitting $304.08. 2,829,543 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,457,491. American Express has a 12 month low of $209.10 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $307.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $283.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Compass Point reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express 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. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.