CFO4Life Group LLC Raises Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

CFO4Life Group LLC increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,410 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in shares of American Express by 39.3% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 1,231 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 3.8% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,903 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,499,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in American Express by 15.4% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in American Express by 4.2% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 2,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in American Express by 1.0% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,979 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point lowered their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $261.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $288.10. 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 stock has a market cap of $183.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, 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 $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

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.