3,877 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Bought by Riverbend Wealth Management LLC

Riverbend Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,877 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,157,000. American Express accounts for about 1.0% of Riverbend Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AXP shares. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.38.

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American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded down $5.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $255.38. 4,924,551 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,682,411. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $179.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $303.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.29. 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.