13,414 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Purchased by Callan Family Office LLC

Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 13,414 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,981,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $275.32 on Friday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $306.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. 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 presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

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.