American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by GoalVest Advisory LLC

GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 45.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 326 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIC Wealth LLC grew its stake in American Express by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 3,925 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 1.0 %

AXP stock opened at $228.41 on Friday. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $234.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $164.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.