Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Takes $396,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,333 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management increased its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $273.13 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $305.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. 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 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.