Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC Reduces Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,816 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 525 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 0.0% of Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Gardner Russo & Quinn LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $5,023,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $543,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 41,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,373,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investment Services LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 15,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,515,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W upgraded shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $295.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.13.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought 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 directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company 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.