Dunhill Financial LLC Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 212.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 197 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $58,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Compass Point lowered their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $276.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $193.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $326.28. The business’s 50 day moving average is $263.38 and its 200-day moving average is $286.82.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

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.