Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 45.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,203 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management grew its holdings in American Express by 0.5% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $294.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $307.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.99. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.