Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,379 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,379 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 118,198.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,028,913,000 after buying an additional 13,720,460 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,503,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,847,452,000 after buying an additional 35,760 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in American Express by 0.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,037,387,000 after buying an additional 41,443 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $911,554,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,802,341 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $857,293,000 after purchasing an additional 405,975 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE AXP opened at $217.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $219.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.58. The company has a market capitalization of $157.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on American Express from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on American Express in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.62.

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.