Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. Invests $621,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,094 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $621,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,151,080,000 after purchasing an additional 14,282 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,099,391,000 after purchasing an additional 74,977 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $2.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $268.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,473,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,826,022. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $188.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's fifty day moving average is $265.44 and its 200 day moving average is $286.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research 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.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.