Cornerstone Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 821 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cornerstone Advisory LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 821 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:AXP opened at $287.09 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $268.60 and a 200 day moving average of $288.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Compass Point decreased their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.05.

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.