Westend Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Westend Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,990 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 2.8% of Westend Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Westend Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $9,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock opened at $312.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $298.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $271.18. American Express has a one year low of $177.81 and a one year high of $315.40. The stock has a market cap of $220.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 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 (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 13.48 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Hsbc Global Res lowered American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.