American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,409 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

American Express stock opened at $270.48 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $298.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.31.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

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.