Chapman Investment Management LLC Purchases 599 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chapman Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,334 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. American Express accounts for approximately 3.2% of Chapman Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Chapman Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $4,349,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $783,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AXP traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,993,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The firm has a market cap of $169.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly 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 $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 the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. HSBC lifted their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, 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 a total of 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.