American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,919 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 86 shares during the quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

American Express Trading Down 2.8 %

American Express stock opened at $295.23 on Friday. American Express has a 12-month low of $212.48 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $307.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $284.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point cut their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Company 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.