Kovack Advisors Inc. Acquires 38 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,359 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $294.09 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $206.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $307.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.99. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Citigroup raised their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.11% 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.