Magnus Financial Group LLC Acquires 611 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,331 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $2,460,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $237.80 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.02. The stock has a market cap of $171.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

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.