Aspiriant LLC Grows Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Aspiriant LLC grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,172 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE AXP opened at $312.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $299.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a twelve month low of $177.81 and a twelve month high of $315.40. The stock has a market cap of $220.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.48 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AXP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $278.09.

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.