Meridian Wealth Management LLC Acquires 382 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,899 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in American Express by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $996,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $283.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $198.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $306.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $287.61. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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%. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 19.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXP. Truist Financial began coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point dropped their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Company 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.