West Branch Capital LLC Grows Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

West Branch Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 96.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,746 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 859 shares during the quarter. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

American Express Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $318.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.78. American Express has a one year low of $184.06 and a one year high of $319.70. The company has a market capitalization of $224.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.