Northeast Financial Consultants Inc Acquires 800 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Northeast Financial Consultants Inc lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 94.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,646 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $832,000. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $103,858,000 after purchasing an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,638,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $7,747,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Compass Point reduced 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 note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $302.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $211.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $264.02 and its 200 day moving average is $287.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.