American Express (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Lifted by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 382,701 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,442 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.05% of American Express worth $113,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% 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 insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP opened at $293.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $269.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business 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 last year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

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.