Bradyco Inc. Buys New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bradyco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,074 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,506,000. American Express makes up approximately 1.1% of Bradyco Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $484,000. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 7.0% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,204 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,038,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC raised its stake in American Express by 2.1% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 501,226 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $135,832,000 after buying an additional 10,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its position in shares of American Express by 105.7% during the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 3,914 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of AXP stock traded down $5.94 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $255.38. The company had a trading volume of 4,924,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,682,411. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $304.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

American Express Company 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.