Trajan Wealth LLC Buys 1,417 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Trajan Wealth LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,032 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 186.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $886,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943,463 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $292,081,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in American Express by 538.7% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 355,888 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $102,003,000 after purchasing an additional 300,168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

AXP stock opened at $251.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $272.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.71.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, 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. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point reduced their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $294.90.

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.