Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Sells 404 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lowered its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,098 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 404 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $484,000. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 653,012 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $177,097,000 after buying an additional 28,371 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $349,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $273.13 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $191.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $305.44 and a 200-day moving average of $287.63. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.