Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 29,500 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $8,755,000. American Express comprises 0.9% of Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.
A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,880 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Bradyco Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,506,000. BBR Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,823 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. now owns 1,177 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $273.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $191.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $305.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.63.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.
AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on AXP
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.
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