Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,084 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,084 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its position in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the fourth 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 period. Auxier Asset Management boosted its position in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Argus downgraded shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $303.52.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of AXP traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $270.48. The company had a trading volume of 4,225,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,626,273. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.55. The stock has a market cap of $190.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

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, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

About American Express

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.