Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC Invests $733,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,470 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,000. American Express accounts for approximately 0.7% of Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $309.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a twelve month low of $207.61 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $306.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’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 owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.