New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 41,500 Shares of American Express Company $AXP

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 625,625 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 41,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.09% of American Express worth $207,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 13.0% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in American Express by 2.1% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 244,588 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $78,019,000 after purchasing an additional 5,044 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in American Express by 10.9% in the second quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 3,012 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 32,066 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $10,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total transaction of $18,010,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $356.89 on Thursday. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $387.49. The company has a market capitalization of $245.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $369.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $343.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($15.41). American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The company had revenue of ($17,139.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.91 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore ISI set a $400.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $420.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $395.00 price target on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group set a $385.00 price objective on American Express in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $353.95.

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.