Impact Capital Partners LLC Invests $488,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Impact Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,643 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in 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 during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $256.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $180.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $302.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.88. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.