James J. Burns & Company LLC Has $432,000 Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

James J. Burns & Company LLC grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,455 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the quarter. James J. Burns & Company LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 18,823 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,597,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $255,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 53,286 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $15,815,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management increased its holdings in American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 62,468 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $18,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 115,200 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $34,190,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $316.43 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $304.98 and its 200 day moving average is $277.73. The firm has a market cap of $222.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.67. American Express has a 52-week low of $203.42 and a 52-week high of $326.27.

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

American Express Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. Barclays upped their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.