J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Cuts Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,417 shares of the payment services company's stock after selling 1,156 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in American Express were worth $2,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 worth $3,484,312,000 after buying an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,151,080,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,099,391,000 after acquiring an additional 74,977 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $264.79. 1,939,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,845,934. The company's 50 day moving average price is $267.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. 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 has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 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.