OFI Invest Asset Management Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 67,035 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,213,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $219,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 34,924 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $9,470,000 after buying an additional 5,363 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Compass Point dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $273.13 on Friday. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. 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 50-day simple moving average of $305.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.87.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

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.