3,505 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Bought by US Asset Management LLC

US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,505 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $657,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AXP shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $241.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,073,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,156,505. The company’s 50-day moving average is $226.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.71. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $243.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.