Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Cuts Position in American Express Company $AXP

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 110,935 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $41,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,712 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of American Express by 10.0% during the third quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 308 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 808 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.1% in the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Credit Suisse Group set a $328.00 price target on American Express in a report on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on American Express from $400.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $395.00 price target on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Express from $395.00 to $385.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded American Express from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.47.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 8,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.73, for a total value of $2,820,301.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,270,704.09. This represents a 46.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 27,425 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.01, for a total value of $9,599,024.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,138,103.94. The trade was a 57.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 73,944 shares of company stock valued at $26,114,366 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $319.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $218.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.08. American Express Company has a 52-week low of $273.10 and a 52-week high of $387.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $311.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $344.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The payment services company reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $14.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 33.95% and a net margin of 15.13%.The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.64 earnings per share. American Express has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.300-17.900 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 17.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.71%.

American Express Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co?brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.