American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Angeles Wealth Management LLC

Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,040 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 430.6% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its position in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in American Express by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after buying an additional 247,864 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $316.72 on Monday. American Express has a 52-week low of $207.61 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $306.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Compass Point reduced their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.