Arjuna Capital Reduces Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Arjuna Capital reduced its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,391 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 488 shares during the period. American Express makes up 1.3% of Arjuna Capital’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Arjuna Capital’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have 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 during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Compass Point dropped their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This 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.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $273.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $305.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.63. The company has a market cap of $191.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27.

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, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.