American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,417 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $270.80 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a market cap of $190.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Express in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $303.52.

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.