Sharkey Howes & Javer Increases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sharkey Howes & Javer increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,386 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Sharkey Howes & Javer’s holdings in American Express were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 2.2 %

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

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.