American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Sandhill Capital Partners LLC

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,846 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 313 shares during the quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $233.85 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $164.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $287.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.39.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. BTIG Research lifted their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.24.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following 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. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.