American Express (NYSE:AXP) Stock Holdings Increased by Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 903 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Auxier Asset Management raised its stake in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,203,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $509,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 12,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $317.12 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $304.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a one year low of $199.88 and a one year high of $326.27. The company has a market capitalization of $223.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

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.