MADDEN SECURITIES Corp Buys Shares of 900 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 900 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,928,905 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $683,249,000 after purchasing an additional 115,738 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 22,653 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 33,110 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,467,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 75,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $10,121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 165.3% in the 3rd quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 5,711 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. 83.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $156.52 on Friday. American Express has a 1 year low of $130.65 and a 1 year high of $194.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $116.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $168.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.30.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 27th. The payment services company reported $2.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($0.11). American Express had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 14.16%. The business had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase 120,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the payment services company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.14%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 5,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total value of $952,181.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Denise Pickett sold 28,688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.78, for a total value of $5,186,216.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,557 shares in the company, valued at $2,270,054.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 5,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total transaction of $952,181.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,361 shares of company stock worth $8,773,678. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Partners initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, November 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $172.00 to $205.00 in a report on Sunday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of American Express from $159.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of American Express from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $186.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $170.00 to $166.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.44.

American Express Company Profile

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American Express Co engages in the provision of charge and credit card products and travel-related services. It operates through the following segments: U.S Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS), Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS), and Corporate and Other.