Keybank National Association OH Acquires 12,364 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in American Express were worth $103,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HSBC lifted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $295.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $307.36 and a 200-day moving average of $287.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

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.