IHT Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,019 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $252.69 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $270.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.37. The company has a market cap of $177.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.