Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Buys 91,541 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 497,579 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,541 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 1.1% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $147,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 27,854 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $8,267,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in American Express by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,465,321 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $435,684,000 after purchasing an additional 154,810 shares during the period. Allianz SE bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $59,042,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,023,000. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $543,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $295.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.43. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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 anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS 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 issued a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.