Allworth Financial LP Purchases 3,830 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 124,938 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,830 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $40,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its holdings in American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 1.3 %

AXP stock opened at $311.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $306.96 and a 200 day moving average of $282.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52 week low of $209.10 and a 52 week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Company insiders own 0.12% 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.