Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Invests $258,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,379 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $217.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $157.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $219.56 and its 200-day moving average is $187.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.62.

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.