Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,052,115 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 126,030 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $905,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $294.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

AXP opened at $251.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $176.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $272.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.59. American Express has a twelve month low of $218.84 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. 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 issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

American Express Company 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.