17,479 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Purchased by Strata Wealth Advisors LLC

Strata Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 17,479 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $3,275,000. American Express accounts for 1.3% of Strata Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $201.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Up 6.2 %

Shares of AXP traded up $13.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $231.04. The stock had a trading volume of 7,573,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,444,438. The business's fifty day moving average is $220.06 and its 200 day moving average is $188.65. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $231.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $167.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. American Express's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express's payout ratio is currently 24.98%.

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.