Richwood Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,401 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 80 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up approximately 0.8% of Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $270.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.55. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AXP. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.