Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 612,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,938 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in American Express were worth $181,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

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 transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 5.8 %

American Express stock opened at $233.50 on Friday. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year 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. The stock has a market cap of $164.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $288.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Bank of America cut their price target on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.24.

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.