American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Trajan Wealth LLC

Trajan Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,032 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $4,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,151,080,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,099,391,000 after purchasing an additional 74,977 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $7.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $260.25. 3,871,549 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,859,005. The company has a market cap of $182.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. 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 has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $270.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.37.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research cut their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.