American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in American Express (NYSE: AXP) by 2.8%, owning 163,700 shares valued at approximately $44 million after selling 4,700 shares in the recent quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently adjusted their holdings in American Express, with notable increases from Goldman Sachs (+25.5%) and DZ BANK AG (+463.3%) during the last quarters.
• American Express has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.28 and a yield of 1.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 23.02%.

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 163,700 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 4,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in American Express were worth $44,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of American Express from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

American Express Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $297.41. 1,778,023 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,640,008. The company has a market capitalization of $206.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $329.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $306.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $17.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total value of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,191.50. The trade was a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 16,998 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.83, for a total transaction of $5,011,520.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,653,764.83. The trade was a 65.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 134,219 shares of company stock worth $40,555,901. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Company 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.