Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. Increases Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,983 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 196 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up 1.6% of Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 430.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after purchasing an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $298,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Citigroup increased 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.50.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $317.24 on Wednesday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $199.07 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $223.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $302.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results 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 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.