Castleark Management LLC Decreases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Castleark Management LLC cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 91.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,675 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 27,230 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Truist Financial cut their price target 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

American Express Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $285.91 on Thursday. 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 has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $268.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

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