Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. Lowers Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,821 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 0.8% of Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,104,735,000 after acquiring an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after purchasing an additional 239,173 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in American Express by 12.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. 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. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

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

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

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.