American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 87,113 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in American Express were worth $16,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its position in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $235.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AXP. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Company 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.