Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Invests $7.45 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 25,117 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $7,446,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,358,000. Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $917,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 552,517 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $163,982,000 after acquiring an additional 7,493 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,544 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $47,648,000 after purchasing an additional 11,852 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 5,139 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus lowered American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on American Express from $340.00 to $315.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Stock Up 3.2 %

AXP stock opened at $277.11 on Monday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $264.59 and a 200-day moving average of $286.96. The company has a market capitalization of $194.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a PEG 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 (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 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.

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