American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by SRS Capital Advisors Inc.

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 29.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,232 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 506 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Down 0.8 %

AXP traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.64. 3,203,104 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,211,802. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55. The company has a market cap of $165.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.76.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 quarter, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.