Strata Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Strata Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,178 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. American Express comprises approximately 1.4% of Strata Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management increased its stake in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its stake in American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $312.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $209.10 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $307.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.