Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Grows Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 18.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,760 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $2,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $6.72 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $291.94. 695,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,841,179. The stock has a market cap of $204.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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's fifty day moving average is $269.34 and its 200-day moving average is $288.60.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.