Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Boosts Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,600 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock traded up $1.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $219.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,579,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,043,898. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $219.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

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.