F M Investments LLC Raises Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

F M Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,045 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $5,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point decreased their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.81.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.3 %

American Express stock traded up $3.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $258.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,450,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,878,366. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $216.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $277.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.