Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Has $890,000 Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 55.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $996,000 after acquiring 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 worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management grew its holdings in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Compass Point reduced their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.24.

American Express Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $266.04 on Friday. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $301.59 and a 200 day moving average of $287.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, 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 paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

American Express 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.