Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,036 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,036 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $266.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $186.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $301.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.41. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.24.

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.