American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,756 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 9.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,638,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $295.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $207.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $212.48 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $285.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.