RFG Advisory LLC Has $3.32 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,194 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $3,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auxier Asset Management boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. increased its position in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $281.00.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $5.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $320.87. 6,256,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,894,205. The company has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $186.43 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $302.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.66.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is 20.60%.

American Express Company 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.