American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,103 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter worth $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in American Express by 636.7% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $65,988,000 after buying an additional 382,272 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Stephens raised American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $239.23 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $221.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.53. The company has a market cap of $172.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that American Express will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.