Sunbelt Securities Inc. Buys 234 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,500 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. GTS Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 61,731 shares in the last quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,373 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 15,880 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,713,000 after buying an additional 4,669 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $255,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $285.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $199.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $269.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AXP. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.05.

Insider Activity

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

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.