American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,787 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $2,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. 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 research note 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 research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $360.00 to $371.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $301.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% 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 Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of AXP traded up $8.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $325.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,844,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,846,784. The company has a market cap of $228.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $298.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.38. 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 Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $329.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. American Express's payout ratio is 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.