American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,291 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 6,124 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in American Express were worth $44,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $294.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $318.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 12 month low of $199.88 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The company has a market cap of $224.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $304.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.54.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

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.