Griffith & Werner Inc. Buys New Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,418 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,311,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America raised American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

American Express Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE AXP traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $293.31. 1,673,917 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,843,932. The company has a 50 day moving average of $269.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52-week low of $220.43 and a 52-week high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $205.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.