Greenleaf Trust Purchases 310 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,746 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $317.12 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $304.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.54. American Express has a 1-year low of $199.88 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company has a market cap of $223.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

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.