Woodline Partners LP Invests $9.92 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 33,421 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $9,919,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $0.40 on Wednesday, reaching $293.36. The stock had a trading volume of 344,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,838,766. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $269.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $205.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.