Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 6,241 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,544 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 6,241 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in American Express were worth $66,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.9 %

AXP opened at $309.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $307.61 and a 200-day moving average of $283.65. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $209.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $217.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.