Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC Boosts Stake in American Express Company $AXP

Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its position in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,774 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,047 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,738 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 27,593 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $8,802,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,995 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.6% in the second quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total transaction of $18,010,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at $30,825,691.17. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Douglas Tabish sold 2,515 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.61, for a total transaction of $894,359.15. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $894,359.15. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Credit Suisse Group set a $328.00 price objective on American Express in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $385.00 price target on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $353.95.

American Express Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of AXP opened at $352.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $368.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.15. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $387.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The payment services company reported ($11.85) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.56 by ($15.41). American Express had a return on equity of 33.41% and a net margin of 14.97%.The business had revenue of ($17,139.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.91 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.01%.

American Express Profile

American Express is a global financial services company primarily known for its payment card products, travel services and merchant network. Founded in 1850 as an express mail business, the company evolved through the 20th century into a payments and travel-focused organization. Its core activities include issuing consumer and commercial charge and credit cards, operating a global card acceptance and processing network, and providing travel-related services and customer loyalty programs.

American Express issues a range of products for individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including personal cards, business and corporate cards, and co‑brand partnerships with airlines, hotels and retailers.