Vestcor Inc Cuts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vestcor Inc cut its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,550 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 658 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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 objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $256.31 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $302.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.88. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a market cap of $180.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly 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%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

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.