Investment House LLC Increases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Investment House LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,605 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 818 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 1.6% of Investment House LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Investment House LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $29,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management lifted its holdings in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research increased their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

American Express stock opened at $262.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $184.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.47. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 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 EPS 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 analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

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.