Park Edge Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Park Edge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,102 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in American Express by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,876 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express by 909.1% during the 4th quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 999 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,064 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC raised its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 12,017 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,567,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total value of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $320.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $226.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $302.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.66. American Express has a 1-year low of $186.43 and a 1-year high of $326.27.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

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.