Parallel Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,773 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Auxier Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.6% during the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.5 %

AXP opened at $264.36 on Tuesday. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.45. The firm has a market cap of $185.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research increased their target price on American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.24.

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.