Capital Planning LLC Buys Shares of 718 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Capital Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 718 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AXP opened at $311.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 52-week low of $177.81 and a 52-week high of $314.00. The firm has a market cap of $219.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $298.26 and its 200-day moving average is $270.90.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.09.

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.