Kestra Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,937 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 49.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,849 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,249,415,000 after acquiring an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in American Express by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $311.37 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $306.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $282.46. The company has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $209.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Evercore ISI upped 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. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, Compass Point cut their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.