RiverFront Investment Group LLC Purchases 370 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 34.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $295.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.43.

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, beating 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, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued 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 yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

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.