Whelan Financial Purchases Shares of 942 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Whelan Financial bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 942 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in American Express by 16.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 955,811 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in American Express by 463.3% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE AXP opened at $299.10 on Tuesday. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. 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 company has a market capitalization of $209.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $266.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.43.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. 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. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Argus cut shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective 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 reduced their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express 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.

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