Claris Advisors LLC MO Has $658,000 Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Claris Advisors LLC MO lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 113.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,218 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Claris Advisors LLC MO’s holdings in American Express were worth $658,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $1,146,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in American Express by 6.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 67,025 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $18,177,000 after buying an additional 4,180 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in American Express by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 49,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $13,294,000 after buying an additional 1,416 shares during the period. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $230,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $261.27 on Tuesday. American Express has a 1-year low of $214.51 and a 1-year high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $183.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $304.72 and a 200-day moving average of $288.26.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC increased their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three 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 MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.