Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases 883 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,288 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crew Capital Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 127,555 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $23,896,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 90,950 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $17,039,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,640 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP traded down $2.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $236.87. The stock had a trading volume of 972,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,173,426. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express 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.