Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Makes New $5.37 Million Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 18,089 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,369,000. American Express accounts for 2.0% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. FMR LLC raised its stake in American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after buying an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after buying an additional 316,219 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,842,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in American Express by 12.7% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $295.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $307.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $284.27. American Express has a 1 year low of $212.48 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % 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 valued at $9,613,503 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

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.