Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Buys 6,709 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,411 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,709 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for 3.3% of Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $16,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in American Express by 0.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 47,545 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $12,896,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $297,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $4,095,000. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $278,000. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at $484,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. HSBC lifted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Down 4.2 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $283.05 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $306.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.61. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $198.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.