Prudential Financial Inc. Grows Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 27.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 556,327 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 120,080 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of American Express worth $165,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,249,415,000 after acquiring an additional 239,173 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $3.89 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $272.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,133,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,792,765. The business's 50 day moving average price is $296.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.15. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $191.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. 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 posted its 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is 23.41%.

American Express 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.