Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Has $371,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,254 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 430.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in American Express by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its position in American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This 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 corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $279.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $196.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $297.50 and its 200-day moving average is $289.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

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.