NewSquare Capital LLC Acquires New Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 18,282 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $5,426,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $0.73 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $284.20. The stock had a trading volume of 2,569,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,557,637. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $199.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $306.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.59. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released 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 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Profile

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.