Petros Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,553 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $461,000.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.
American Express Stock Up 1.0 %
NYSE:AXP traded up $2.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $257.87. The stock had a trading volume of 3,507,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,883,837. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.30. American Express has a 1-year low of $216.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $181.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.
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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.
American Express Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.
Insider Buying and Selling at American Express
In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday. Compass Point reduced their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.81.
Read Our Latest Analysis on American Express
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.
Featured Stories
Before you consider American Express, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and American Express wasn't on the list.
While American Express currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
