RMR Wealth Builders Buys 527 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

RMR Wealth Builders increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,666 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the quarter. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in American Express were worth $2,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 86.7% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,910 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in American Express by 3.4% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 28,822 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,674,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.5% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 602,832 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $139,586,000 after acquiring an additional 42,238 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 44.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,216 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 4,580 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 2.9 %

AXP traded down $8.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $294.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,682,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,235,478. The company has a market capitalization of $207.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $296.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a 52 week low of $177.81 and a 52 week high of $307.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BTIG Research cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. The trade was a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. 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.