Avalon Trust Co Purchases 39 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Avalon Trust Co increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 634 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in American Express were worth $188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third 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 during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $266.04 on Friday. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $301.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Compass Point decreased their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.24.

About American Express

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.