Sapient Capital LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,723 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,506 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in American Express by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 26,852 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,031,000 after buying an additional 3,169 shares during the period. SouthState Corp increased its position in shares of American Express by 870.0% in the fourth quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 13,143 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,788 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 5,258 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of American Express by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,232 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $232.16 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $166.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $224.63 and its 200 day moving average is $194.88.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

About American Express

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.