Dakota Wealth Management Reduces Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Dakota Wealth Management reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,502 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 55.1% in the fourth quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,748 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,554,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its stake in American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 4,649 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,671,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AXP. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen raised 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. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. HSBC lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $322.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $184.81 and a 52 week high of $322.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

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.