Jones Financial Companies Lllp Has $11.13 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 47.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,497 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,035 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in American Express were worth $11,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake 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 Down 1.9 %

AXP opened at $295.12 on Tuesday. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $207.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $307.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.39.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. 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 American Express 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.