Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Raises Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,537 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $270.80 on Friday. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $190.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $298.77 and its 200-day moving average is $288.23. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired 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 directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.