Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Acquires 91 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,254 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $279.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $297.50 and a 200-day moving average of $289.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

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.