American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Waverly Advisors LLC

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,296 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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 raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point cut their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.2%

American Express stock opened at $299.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $209.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $266.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.43.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.