Ethic Inc. Has $22.95 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,315 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 7,953 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 0.5% of Ethic Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $22,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $284.43. The company had a trading volume of 2,704,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,831,314. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.22. The company has a market cap of $199.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Compass Point lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.