Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 4,891 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 158,580 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 4,891 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $47,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s 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 $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $270.48 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $190.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $298.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.81. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

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.