731 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Purchased by Mendel Money Management

Mendel Money Management bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 731 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $279.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $297.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $289.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

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.