White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 101.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,834 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares during the period. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 463.3% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after buying an additional 1,943,463 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 346.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $600,072,000 after buying an additional 1,568,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock opened at $299.10 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.43. 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 has a market capitalization of $209.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 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.