Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,498 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 9.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in American Express by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in American Express by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $298,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents 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 insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE AXP opened at $317.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $223.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $199.88 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Company 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.