Brian Low Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 2,596 American Express Company $AXP

Brian Low Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 2,596 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth $37,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Express from $336.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $335.55.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $381.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $387.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $365.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.90. The company has a market capitalization of $262.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total value of $18,010,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total value of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,709,739.98. The trade was a 39.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 57,515 shares of company stock valued at $20,658,509 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Company Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.