Souders Financial Advisors Purchases 296 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,088 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in American Express were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the third 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. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, 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 sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 4.2 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $283.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $198.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.