Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 164,605 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,958 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $48,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position 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 position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $273.13 on Monday. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $191.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $305.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.17.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

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.