Maj Invest Holding A S Lowers Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Maj Invest Holding A S cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 42.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 466,822 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 351,382 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 4.6% of Maj Invest Holding A S’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Maj Invest Holding A S’s holdings in American Express were worth $138,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $320.87 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 12-month low of $186.43 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $302.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. On average, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.00.

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.