Westchester Capital Management Inc. Purchases 100 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 660 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. HSBC upped their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

American Express Stock Down 2.3 %

AXP stock opened at $255.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $303.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.29. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About American Express

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.