American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,852 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,169 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in American Express by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after buying an additional 41,443 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in American Express by 6.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,045 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $268,549,000 after purchasing an additional 102,977 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in American Express by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $294,856,000 after purchasing an additional 102,132 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in American Express by 1.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,480,157 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $220,825,000 after purchasing an additional 21,876 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $210,540,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP traded down $1.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.77. 3,203,304 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.76. 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 has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

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.