American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 74.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $13,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 14,282 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after buying an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 5.8 %

AXP stock opened at $233.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $288.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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 anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.24.

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.