Stonehaven Wealth & Tax Solutions LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stonehaven Wealth & Tax Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,637 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $292,081,000. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its holdings in American Express by 538.7% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 355,888 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $102,003,000 after purchasing an additional 300,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,517,668 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $450,429,000 after buying an additional 273,813 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE AXP traded down $1.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $251.48. 3,906,748 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,886,649. American Express has a 1 year low of $218.84 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The stock has a market cap of $176.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $272.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $287.59.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $310.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. As part of a broader Q1 preview for Consumer Finance, RBC anticipates seasonally-driven trends with lower loans and volumes, stable credit performance, and possibly elevated loan loss provisions due to uncertainty. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Compass Point reduced their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $294.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.