Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Invests $40.92 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 137,876 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,920,000. American Express makes up about 1.3% of Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 1.3 %

American Express stock opened at $311.37 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $209.10 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $306.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 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 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 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. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. HSBC increased their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.