MADDEN SECURITIES Corp Takes $133,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 900 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Frontier Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Frontier Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,485 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,345 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 5,607 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 83.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on American Express from $159.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Redburn Partners initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, November 29th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded American Express from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $186.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.44.

American Express Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $156.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $116.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.30. American Express has a 1 year low of $130.65 and a 1 year high of $194.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The payment services company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $14.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.25 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 14.16%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.18 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.14%.

American Express declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 8th that allows the company to buyback 120,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the payment services company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total transaction of $2,635,280.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,374,644.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 5,456 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total transaction of $952,181.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,229,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total transaction of $2,635,280.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,712 shares in the company, valued at $2,374,644.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,361 shares of company stock valued at $8,773,678. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About American Express

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American Express Co engages in the provision of charge and credit card products and travel-related services. It operates through the following segments: U.S Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS), Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS), and Corporate and Other.