Ballast Advisors LLC Has $717,000 Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Ballast Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,417 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Compass Point cut their price objective on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $270.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $190.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $298.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $288.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

American Express 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.