Czech National Bank Acquires 6,255 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,255 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $35,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,104,735,000 after acquiring an additional 86,100 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,249,415,000 after purchasing an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after purchasing an additional 33,193 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in American Express by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after buying an additional 247,864 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $294.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $207.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $296.88 and its 200 day moving average is $269.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a one year low of $177.81 and a one year high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Express from $263.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $286.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.64.

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.