American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Good Life Advisors LLC

Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,962 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,053 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,930,000 after acquiring an additional 7,990 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth $525,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.7% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $15,112,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 8,639.9% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,559 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,660,000 after buying an additional 24,278 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $304.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $213.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 1 year low of $209.10 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $283.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

About American Express

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.