Strategic Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 46.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,356 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $1,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in 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. acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $5.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $304.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,829,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,457,491. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $307.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.65. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $209.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business's 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.