Evercore Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Evercore Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,031 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Evercore Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after purchasing an additional 268,572 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $1,785,867,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Express by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,151,080,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in American Express by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,704,271 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,099,391,000 after acquiring an additional 74,977 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday. Compass Point cut their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Argus cut American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $260.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $269.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 1 year low of $220.43 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The firm has a market cap of $182.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 22.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.