Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC Buys Shares of 1,794 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,794 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,053 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,930,000 after acquiring an additional 7,990 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $525,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 0.7% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 55,723 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $15,112,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Wallington Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 8,639.9% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,559 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,660,000 after buying an additional 24,278 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of AXP opened at $304.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $307.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $283.79. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $213.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 1-year low of $209.10 and a 1-year high of $326.27.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point lowered 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.