Aire Advisors LLC Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Aire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,607 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the quarter. Aire Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $277.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $297.92 and its 200 day moving average is $288.99. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. BTIG Research lifted their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reduced their price target on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.