Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,230 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 630 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 1.3% of Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. UBS Group raised their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’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 value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $312.52 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $307.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $283.46. American Express has a 1 year low of $209.10 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

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.