Stokes Family Office LLC Has $2.46 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Stokes Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 54.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,304 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 2,922 shares during the quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $300,289,000 after buying an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $292,081,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in American Express by 73.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 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 other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $262.71 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $300.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.47. 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 stock has a market cap of $184.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted 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, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Compass Point lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.52.

About American Express

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.