Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 16,004 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 428,488 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,004 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $127,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 463.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,959 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $600,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AXP shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $284.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $198.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $263.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.91. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.