American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,178 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Saxon Interests Inc. raised its position in American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 5,536 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,083,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,345 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,477,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its position in American Express by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 2,964 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $1.43 on Friday, reaching $312.91. 444,760 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,134,977. The stock has a market cap of $220.43 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $298.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.90. American Express has a twelve month low of $177.81 and a twelve month high of $314.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.48 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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. Insiders sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point raised their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen increased their price target on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

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.