Advisory Services Network LLC Increases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,872 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 4,288 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 1.4 %

AXP stock opened at $230.98 on Wednesday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $283.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $162.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS 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 paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

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.