RWA Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 818 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,854 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in American Express by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,465,321 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $435,684,000 after purchasing an additional 154,810 shares during the period. Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,042,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $5,023,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $543,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 41,690 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,373,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $295.02 and a 200-day moving average of $289.43.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, 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. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC upped their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

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.