WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. Purchases New Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 723 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,284 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in shares of American Express by 17.8% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,083 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 55,053 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $14,930,000 after purchasing an additional 7,990 shares during the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 1,655 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $65,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 30,664 shares of company stock valued at $9,613,503 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $312.52 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $307.46 and its 200 day moving average is $283.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $220.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a 52-week low of $209.10 and a 52-week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Compass Point lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

About American Express

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.