Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Has $221,000 Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 746 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 284 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in 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 period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 1.1 %

AXP stock opened at $316.72 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $207.61 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $306.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research upped their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.