Ravikumar Radhakrishnan Sells 9,485 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock

American Express (NYSE:AXP) insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $0.36 on Thursday, hitting $320.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,730,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,560,997. American Express has a 1-year low of $205.60 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $225.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $305.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Compass Point decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Express

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.