American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Addison Advisors LLC

Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 68.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 430 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $81,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Down 0.6 %

American Express stock traded down $1.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $235.64. 2,993,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $240.55. The company has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

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.