Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Grows Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 96.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,626 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 15,998 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 0.9% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $311.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $219.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $209.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $306.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $282.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

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.