FSM Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 88 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 778 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in American Express by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. grew its position in American Express by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 56,411 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Trading Up 1.0%

American Express stock opened at $325.83 on Thursday. American Express Company has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.62. The company has a market capitalization of $228.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $293.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 32.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 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 Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. American Express’s payout ratio is 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 price target on American Express in a research report on Wednesday. Argus downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $295.25.

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.