Chapman Investment Management LLC Acquires 599 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chapman Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,334 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. American Express accounts for about 3.2% of Chapman Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Chapman Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its holdings in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

AXP stock traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $235.64. The company had a trading volume of 2,993,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,154,841. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.45. The company has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.