Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,810 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its holdings in American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $311.37 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $306.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.60. 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 $209.10 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 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%. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

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

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.