Kerusso Capital Management LLC Buys 35 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,516 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 2.9% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the third 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. acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $311.37 on Monday. American Express has a twelve month low of $209.10 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $306.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.25. The company has a market cap of $218.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.