American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by MONECO Advisors LLC

MONECO Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 30.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,076 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,638,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE AXP opened at $295.23 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $307.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a twelve month low of $212.48 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $207.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Compass Point lowered their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.