GWN Securities Inc. Invests $250,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 777 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $264.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $185.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $300.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.45.

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 anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related 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 value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Compass Point lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.24.

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.