Park Square Financial Group LLC Takes $222,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 749 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of American Express stock opened at $285.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $269.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.60. The company has a market cap of $199.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Argus downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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