Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Has $2.97 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. decreased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,658 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.'s holdings in American Express were worth $2,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in American Express by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after purchasing an additional 955,811 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial dropped their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

American Express Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $10.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $285.91. 3,444,567 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,851,846. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $267.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

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.