Insight Wealth Strategies LLC Raises Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,123 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 4,364 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $6,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $835,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 44,162 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $13,107,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $1.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $294.04. The stock had a trading volume of 5,251,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,856,123. The company has a market capitalization of $206.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $270.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. BTIG Research decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.