Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 2,976 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 374,515 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,976 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in American Express were worth $124,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,425,262 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,808,730,000 after buying an additional 581,369 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Express by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,487,316 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,282,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349,746 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth approximately $1,897,335,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.0% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,620,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,473,966,000 after purchasing an additional 133,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its stake in shares of American Express by 13.9% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,342,556 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,385,188,000 after purchasing an additional 530,967 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of American Express from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. HSBC set a $295.00 target price on American Express and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $395.00 price target on American Express in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $353.95.

American Express Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of AXP opened at $361.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.15. American Express Company has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $387.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $368.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $342.47.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by ($15.41). American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.91 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. This trade represents a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.