IronOak Wealth LLC. Invests $2.48 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

IronOak Wealth LLC. bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,367 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $2,483,000. American Express accounts for 2.8% of IronOak Wealth LLC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $75,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $597,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $222,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $187,337,000. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,560 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Up 0.7%

AXP stock traded up $2.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $295.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,361,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,844,659. 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 capitalization of $207.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.66.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is 22.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $296.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% 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.

American Express Company 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.