American Express (NYSE:AXP) is Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s 3rd Largest Position

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,411 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,709 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 3.3% of Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $16,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 18,482 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,485,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in American Express by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 21,834 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,480,000 after buying an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Express by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,151,080,000 after buying an additional 14,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $886,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $283.05 on Wednesday. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.61. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $198.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. BTIG Research upped their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

About American Express

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.