5,844 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Purchased by Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.

Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,844 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,734,000. American Express comprises 2.6% of Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in American Express by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,424 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% 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 hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $294.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,251,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,856,123. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $270.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $206.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $296.05.

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.