Empowered Funds LLC Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 157.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 22,474 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third 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 period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of AXP opened at $316.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 1 year low of $207.61 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $306.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.03.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

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.