Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Has $1.85 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,215 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 1,834 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $14,425,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 10,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,608 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock opened at $270.66 on Thursday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.35. The company has a market cap of $190.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.32, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company 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 an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. HSBC lifted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.52.

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.