Aries Wealth Management Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Aries Wealth Management cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,073 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 1,580 shares during the quarter. Aries Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in American Express by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,249,415,000 after buying an additional 239,173 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of American Express by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $307.49 on Friday. American Express has a 12-month low of $208.82 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

American Express 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.