Griffith & Werner Inc. Takes $1.31 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Griffith & Werner Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,418 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,311,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This 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 corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $8.57 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $293.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,603,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,848,611. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $269.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.60. The firm has a market cap of $205.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. American Express has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.05.

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.