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

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 54,289 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,789 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after purchasing an additional 13,720,460 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $911,554,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,540,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 162.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,961,999 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $289,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,731 shares during the period. Finally, CI Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $124,325,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.62.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

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

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.07 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 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. 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 payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

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.