Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 152,682 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $44,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. HSBC upped their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.81.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AXP
American Express Trading Up 1.9 %
Shares of AXP stock traded up $4.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $251.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,412,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,882,910. 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 market capitalization of $176.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $279.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.41. American Express has a 12-month low of $216.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
American Express Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 23.41%.
Insider Transactions at American Express
In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.
About American Express
(
Free Report)
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.
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