Empirical Asset Management LLC Has $5.34 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 405.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,983 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,426 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $5,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $311.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $177.81 and a 52 week high of $314.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $298.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $278.09.

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.