Providence Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 948 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $272.15 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $295.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. 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 $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.28.

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 forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AXP. HSBC increased their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $302.57.

About American Express

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.