Diversified Enterprises LLC Acquires 39 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Diversified Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,939 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Diversified Enterprises LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 12,174 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,613,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investment Management LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $905,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 8,240 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. increased its holdings in American Express by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 12,267 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,641,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 470.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 179,359 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $53,232,000 after acquiring an additional 147,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 3.7 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $266.04 on Friday. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The company has a market cap of $186.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $301.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $287.97. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.24.

American Express 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.