Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Has $1.43 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,827 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 98 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Petros Family Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Coign Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth $644,000. Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $7,913,000. Family Office Research LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $413,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock opened at $251.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.66 billion, a PE 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 current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $279.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.26. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $216.12 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.81.

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.