RWA Wealth Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 85.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,689 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,367 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.24.

American Express Stock Up 0.3 %

AXP opened at $233.70 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $235.37. The firm has a market cap of $169.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.39% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. Insiders own 0.11% 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.