American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by BNC Wealth Management LLC

BNC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,904 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the period. American Express comprises 1.5% of BNC Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. BNC Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Veery Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in American Express by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,076 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $2,606,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $312.75 on Friday. American Express has a twelve month low of $177.81 and a twelve month high of $315.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BTIG Research downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $278.09.

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.