Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,333 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,333 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised 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 during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Compass Point lowered their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $273.13 on Friday. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $305.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.