GWN Securities Inc. Buys New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

GWN Securities Inc. bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 777 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management increased its holdings in American Express by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Compass Point dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.24.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents 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 available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE AXP opened at $264.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a PEG 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $300.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.45.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.24%. 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 is currently 23.41%.

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.