Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Buys 5,111 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 45.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,364 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,111 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $4,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its stake in American Express by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,862 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in American Express by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 4,678 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,360 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its stake in American Express by 653.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 39,835 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $10,803,000 after acquiring an additional 34,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,178 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company'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 in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $3.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $311.37. 1,724,965 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,536,095. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $209.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $306.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

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.