Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $2.92 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,823 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $2,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP traded down $11.94 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $261.27. 4,273,637 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,632,304. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $304.72 and a 200 day moving average of $288.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.