49,942 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Bought by Perennial Advisors LLC

Perennial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 49,942 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,822,000. American Express accounts for approximately 3.2% of Perennial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $285.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $199.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $269.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.