Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 152 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,226 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 156.2% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 52,957 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,262,000 after purchasing an additional 32,287 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 5.9% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,301 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,228,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 27,929 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,467,000 after buying an additional 3,273 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 26,607 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 217.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,804 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,604 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $312.75 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $299.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $177.81 and a 52 week high of $315.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 over the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Compass Point raised their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $278.09.

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.