Twin Tree Management LP Lowers Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Twin Tree Management LP lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 88.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,458 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 160,610 shares during the quarter. Twin Tree Management LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $264.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $300.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.45. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued 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 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.24.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.