Global Retirement Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,794 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth 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 boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Auxier Asset Management grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.5% during 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. Abel Hall LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the third 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. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point cut their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents 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 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $7.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $296.00. 1,854,715 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,437,619. 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 twelve month low of $212.48 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. The business's fifty day moving average price is $307.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $283.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

American Express 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.