AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 26.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 233,406 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,681 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $69,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Compass Point decreased their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $8.57 on Friday, reaching $277.11. The stock had a trading volume of 3,099,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,825,974. The business's 50 day moving average is $264.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.95. The company has a market cap of $194.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

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.