American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 267,445 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 60,066 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $79,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its stake in American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in American Express by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AXP traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $299.10. 2,751,297 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,842,469. The firm has a market cap of $209.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $266.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Truist Financial decreased their target price on American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point reduced their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

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.