Optas LLC Has $408,000 Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Optas LLC lessened its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,375 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $408,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $316.43 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $277.73. American Express has a 12-month low of $203.42 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $222.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% 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.