BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 709 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 709 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 2.2 %

AXP stock opened at $300.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $307.44 and its 200 day moving average is $286.76.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company 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. UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.