Polymer Capital Management US LLC Invests $402,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,353 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $1,785,867,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $292,081,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in American Express by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,517,668 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $450,429,000 after acquiring an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $233.50 on Monday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $164.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $288.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial cut their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.24.

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.