Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Invests $835,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,776 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $317.24 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $302.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.72. The company has a market cap of $223.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 12-month low of $199.07 and a 12-month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given 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 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.50.

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.