LexAurum Advisors LLC Buys New Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

LexAurum Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 751 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 1.5 %

AXP opened at $320.87 on Friday. American Express has a twelve month low of $186.43 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $301.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.00.

About American Express

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.