UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Decreases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,624 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,850 shares during the period. American Express accounts for 0.9% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp's holdings in American Express were worth $14,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after buying an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $292,081,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded down $6.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $265.16. The stock had a trading volume of 3,259,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,757,380. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company's 50 day moving average price is $295.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.03. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.