Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Takes $220,000 Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,172 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its position in American Express by 134.8% in the 4th 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 own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction 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 business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $235.60 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.45. The company has a market cap of $169.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.62. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

About American Express

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.