American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,246 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $295.86 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $207.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $307.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $285.93. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.