Delos Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 200 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 200 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its position in American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $239.14. 3,161,222 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,180,305. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.