Federated Hermes Inc. Buys 3,567 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,881 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,567 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in American Express by 382.6% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 333 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,140 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,880 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in American Express by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,386 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,622,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in American Express by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 225,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $33,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.24.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $238.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $239.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $221.05 and a 200-day moving average of $190.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.