Stenger Family Office LLC Buys New Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,817 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,023,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its stake in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

AXP traded down $1.44 on Friday, reaching $251.48. 3,906,748 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,886,649. The company has a market cap of $176.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a one year low of $218.84 and a one year high of $326.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.59.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $294.90.

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.