QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 140,041 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,279 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $41,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC grew its stake in American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its stake in American Express by 3.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,638,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $295.86 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $307.37 and a 200 day moving average of $285.93. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Compass Point cut their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.