5,863 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Bought by MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,863 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,000. American Express comprises approximately 1.0% of MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its position 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 321,200 shares of company stock worth $71,640,500. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.92. The company had a trading volume of 649,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,171,295. The stock has a market cap of $168.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $224.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.48.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.