Providence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 178 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 948 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying 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 reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd 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. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $272.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $191.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $295.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.03.

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, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 1.21%. 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $302.57.

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.