DAVENPORT & Co LLC Acquires 230 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,358 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $15,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Express by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,654 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,943,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,795 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,907,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 6,498 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,066,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Hofer & Associates. Inc purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

AXP opened at $317.12 on Monday. American Express has a 52 week low of $199.88 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.54. The company has a market capitalization of $223.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

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.