BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Grows Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,905 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,853 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in American Express were worth $32,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in American Express by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 7,760 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,303,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 913 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 101.3% in the 4th quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,834 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Talisman Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

AXP traded up $6.72 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $291.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 695,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,841,179. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.60. The company has a market cap of $204.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

About American Express

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.