Credit Agricole S A Boosts Stake in American Express Company $AXP

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Credit Agricole S A boosted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 301,348 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,726 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in American Express were worth $81,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,071 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $911,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 109,611 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $32,546,000 after purchasing an additional 19,386 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $308.42. 1,848,473 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,379,231. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $214.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $307.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.08.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. The business had revenue of $17.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $311.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total value of $18,360,145.87. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,527.47. This trade represents a 87.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total transaction of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.