Ghe LLC Acquires 447 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ghe LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. American Express makes up about 1.8% of Ghe LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Ghe LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE AXP opened at $295.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 1-year low of $212.48 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $307.54 and a 200-day moving average of $285.04. The company has a market cap of $207.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.