First Command Bank raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,272 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the quarter. First Command Bank’s holdings in American Express were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 19.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,605,412 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,609,248,000 after acquiring an additional 2,252,720 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 1,759.0% in the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,961,641 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $859,345,000 after acquiring an additional 6,587,148 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments CA lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.4% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments CA now owns 6,193,957 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $732,621,000 after acquiring an additional 85,419 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Express by 5.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,706,357 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $704,392,000 after acquiring an additional 319,389 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in American Express by 16.2% in the second quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,253,506 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $648,492,000 after acquiring an additional 731,450 shares during the period. 84.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 15,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.96, for a total value of $1,769,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 184,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,715,256.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Theodore Leonsis sold 7,575 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.61, for a total value of $1,004,520.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,103.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,108 shares of company stock valued at $12,050,255 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
NYSE:AXP opened at $133.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52. American Express has a 12-month low of $103.43 and a 12-month high of $138.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $128.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.99.
American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $11.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.36 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.24% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.98%.
Several research firms have recently commented on AXP. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $149.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Cfra reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $144.00 price objective on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Co raised their price objective on American Express from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Express from $119.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.04.
American Express Profile
American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides charge and credit payment card products, and travel-related services to consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through three segments: Global Consumer Services Group, Global Commercial Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.
