Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 68.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 850 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at about $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 636.7% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $65,988,000 after acquiring an additional 382,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $2.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $237.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,327,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,198,062. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.53. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. Corporate insiders own 0.12% 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.