Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $8.88 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,910 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,152 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $292,081,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after acquiring an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE AXP opened at $255.38 on Wednesday. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $303.89 and a 200-day moving average of $288.29. The firm has a market cap of $179.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.