Focus Partners Wealth Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 25.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,111 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 40,249 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in American Express were worth $58,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased 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 of the company's stock, valued at $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $2.27 on Wednesday, hitting $300.03. 1,954,317 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,837,667. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

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.