abrdn plc Sells 40,529 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

abrdn plc trimmed its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,230,285 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 40,529 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 0.7% of abrdn plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. abrdn plc’s holdings in American Express were worth $364,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. GDS Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 62,468 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $18,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,231 shares during the period. Rheos Capital Works Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 115,200 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $34,190,000 after acquiring an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Prudent Investors Network Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $229,000. Finally, Rice Partnership LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 61,027 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $18,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,258 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.3 %

American Express stock opened at $316.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $277.73. The company has a market cap of $222.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $203.42 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.