CenterBook Partners LP Purchases 6,120 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

CenterBook Partners LP grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 41.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,895 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,120 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC raised its stake in American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial cut their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $230.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $162.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $283.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.71. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend 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.