Parkshore Wealth Management Inc. Purchases New Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Parkshore Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,479 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,813,000. American Express comprises about 1.7% of Parkshore Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $621,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in shares of American Express by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 926,363 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,935,000 after purchasing an additional 76,470 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Mendel Capital Management LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Betterment LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $280,000. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc increased its stake in American Express by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 2,110 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 0.9 %

American Express stock opened at $264.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $185.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $267.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.33. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’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 owns 13,500 shares in the company, 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Citigroup reduced 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Compass Point decreased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.05.

American Express Company 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.