DLK Investment Management LLC Purchases New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

DLK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 837 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. 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 for the company. StockNews.com raised American Express from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $278.09.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $1.27 on Monday, hitting $312.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,180,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,022,091. American Express has a one year low of $177.81 and a one year high of $315.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $299.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $272.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid 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 is Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.