Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 984,133 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $292,081,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.14% of American Express at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Maia Wealth LLC increased its position in American Express by 11.8% in the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 7.0% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,204 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,038,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. M&G PLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 501,226 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $135,832,000 after buying an additional 10,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its stake in shares of American Express by 105.7% during the 3rd quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 3,914 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
American Express Trading Down 4.4 %
Shares of AXP traded down $11.94 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $261.27. The company had a trading volume of 4,273,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,632,304. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. 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 50 day simple moving average of $305.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.17. The stock has a market cap of $183.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.
American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
American Express Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced 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. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.
Insider Buying and Selling at American Express
In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Compass Point cut their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.38.
Read Our Latest Research Report on AXP
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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