Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV Increases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,576 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. American Express comprises about 1.2% of Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 105.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 19,400 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 8.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,983 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth about $228,000. JGP Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of American Express by 330.7% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,522 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 3,472 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $316.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a one year low of $207.61 and a one year high of $326.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $306.29 and a 200 day moving average of $279.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s 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 owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

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.