American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Boosted by WP Advisors LLC

WP Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,403 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises 1.6% of WP Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. WP Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $172,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 20,827 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,181,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of American Express by 170.3% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 47,190 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,006,000 after buying an additional 29,732 shares during the period. Finally, O Brien Greene & Co. Inc acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the 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 approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.9 %

AXP stock opened at $304.08 on Friday. American Express has a 1-year low of $209.10 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $213.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $307.68 and its 200-day moving average is $283.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.