American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Western Financial Corp CA

Western Financial Corp CA boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 386 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 1.0% of Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Western Financial Corp CA’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 26,783.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 909,737 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,467,210,000 after purchasing an additional 906,353 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 59,816.0% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 682,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $185,079,000 after buying an additional 681,304 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 35,213.7% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after acquiring an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in American Express by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,842,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $317.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $223.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 1-year low of $199.88 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $304.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.34.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.3 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. 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. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.