Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,802 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $294.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE AXP opened at $318.84 on Friday. American Express has a 52 week low of $199.88 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The stock has a market cap of $224.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $304.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.54.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

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.