Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $8.87 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,900 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 332.0% in the third 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. acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly 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. Insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on 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 given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

American Express Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $309.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $218.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52-week low of $207.61 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. 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.