Wealthspire Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,275 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,377 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $372,000. Winebrenner Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,198,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its position in American Express by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 3,326 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares during the period. Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 50,093 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,867,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $5,369,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 2.8 %

American Express stock opened at $295.23 on Monday. American Express has a 1-year low of $212.48 and a 1-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 stock has a market cap of $207.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $307.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.04.

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 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, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. UBS Group raised 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. Compass Point lowered their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BTIG Research raised their price target on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 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.