Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Purchases Shares of 112 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 112 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC lifted 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point cut their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $272.15 on Friday. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $295.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $289.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.