Certuity LLC Increases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Certuity LLC increased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 46.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,478 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schear Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $890,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its position in American Express by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,943 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Guided Capital Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $733,000. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 quarter, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.0 %

American Express stock opened at $306.46 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $306.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.25. The company has a market capitalization of $215.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52 week low of $207.61 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.