Austin Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Austin Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,374 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Austin Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired 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. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE AXP opened at $255.38 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $303.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $288.29.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

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.