Lyell Wealth Management LP Buys 100 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lyell Wealth Management LP raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,305 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

American Express Stock Up 0.5 %

AXP opened at $312.52 on Wednesday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $209.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $307.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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%. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

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.