Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,594 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 532 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in American Express were worth $11,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 20,827 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,181,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American Express by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its position in American Express by 170.3% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 47,190 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,006,000 after purchasing an additional 29,732 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,397 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $304.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 1-year low of $209.10 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $307.68 and a 200 day moving average of $283.79. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

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.