Schear Investment Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 784 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Schear Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 784 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its stake in American Express by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,356 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Auxier Asset Management raised its position in American Express by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 7,133 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,934,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 4,054 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $309.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $218.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 1.50 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 $207.61 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $306.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.32 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s payout ratio is 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.