Aire Advisors LLC Acquires 147 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Aire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,607 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 147 shares during the quarter. Aire Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $277.98 on Tuesday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.99.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXP. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Compass Point cut their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

American Express Company 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.