Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC Sells 384 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 384 shares during the quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $267.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $187.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s 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 acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Compass Point dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express 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.