Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Acquires New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position 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 266 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,172,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 31,954 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $9,484,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of American Express by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 108,596 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $32,230,000 after purchasing an additional 6,322 shares in the last quarter. Moment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,188,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,258,630 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $381,466,000 after purchasing an additional 61,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

American Express Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $295.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $289.68.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.