SGL Investment Advisors Inc. Takes $249,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 813 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in shares of American Express by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE AXP opened at $299.32 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.82. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a market capitalization of $209.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. 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 payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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.