Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $10.17 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 30.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,289 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,789 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after purchasing an additional 714,370 shares during the period. GYL Financial Synergies LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 23,987 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,579,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $294,856,000 after purchasing an additional 102,132 shares during the period. Finally, Retireful LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $1,425,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $218.40 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.37. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $231.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.62.

About American Express

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.