Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New $17.41 Million Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 58,667 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,412,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC boosted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.24.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE AXP opened at $264.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $300.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.45. 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 $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.