Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,450 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 239.0% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 200 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Karp Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 83.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on American Express from $128.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 26th. StockNews.com started coverage on American Express in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on American Express from $132.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded American Express from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $186.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.44.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $4.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $156.52. The stock had a trading volume of 7,447,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,685,349. The firm has a market cap of $116.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 12 month low of $130.65 and a 12 month high of $194.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $168.04 and its 200 day moving average is $155.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

American Express (NYSE:AXP – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The payment services company reported $2.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $14.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.25 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 31.76% and a net margin of 14.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 7th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.14%.

American Express declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 8th that permits the company to repurchase 120,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the payment services company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 5,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total value of $952,181.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,229,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 15,217 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.18, for a total value of $2,635,280.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,374,644.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 5,456 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.52, for a total value of $952,181.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,045 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,229,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,361 shares of company stock valued at $8,773,678. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About American Express

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American Express Co engages in the provision of charge and credit card products and travel-related services. It operates through the following segments: U.S Consumer Services (USCS), Commercial Services (CS), International Card Services (ICS), Global Merchant and Network Services (GMNS), and Corporate and Other.