TAGStone Capital Inc. Buys 108 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

TAGStone Capital Inc. lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,464 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises about 1.4% of TAGStone Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. TAGStone Capital Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $270.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.81. The firm has a market cap of $190.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $214.51 and a twelve month high of $326.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. HSBC lifted their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America cut their price target on American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.52.

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.