Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC Has $1.65 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth 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. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,460,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after purchasing an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% in the third quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 23,987 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,579,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $12.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.55. The stock had a trading volume of 4,765,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,094,246. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $231.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $219.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.79. 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 $166.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.32. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 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 given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Morgan Stanley downgraded American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.