BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC Invests $210,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 709 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Up 2.2 %

AXP stock opened at $300.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $307.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $286.76. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $211.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.