Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 66,956 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 29.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,864 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,956 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $86,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC raised its stake in American Express by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 value 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 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 owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.24.

American Express Stock Down 5.8 %

American Express stock opened at $233.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $288.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.