Mariner LLC Has $43.38 Million Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Mariner LLC increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,179 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 4,838 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $43,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $1,296,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 8,031 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,178,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,423 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in American Express by 293.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 31,428 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,523,000 after acquiring an additional 23,432 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 1.0 %

American Express stock opened at $257.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $276.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.09. 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 has a 52-week low of $216.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $181.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $244.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.81.

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.