Global Assets Advisory LLC Invests $638,000 in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,531 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in American Express by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $403,000. Finally, Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $12,000,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.1%

AXP opened at $308.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $286.36 and its 200 day moving average is $288.84. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This trade represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.