NewSquare Capital LLC Invests $5.43 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 18,282 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,426,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 185,588 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $55,081,000 after purchasing an additional 25,710 shares in the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of American Express by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 4,088 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 56,411 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after acquiring an additional 12,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $283.05 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $306.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $287.61. The company has a market cap of $198.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

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.