Balboa Wealth Partners Raises Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 99.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,693 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,836 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in American Express were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE AXP opened at $261.19 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $303.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.10. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $183.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial started coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, 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. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.