Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in American Express by 2.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,876,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 4.0% in the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,429 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 9.0% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,590 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,956,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $262.71 on Wednesday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $300.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.47.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point decreased their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America decreased their target price on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.52.

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.