American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Hexagon Capital Partners LLC

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its position in American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.5 %

AXP traded down $1.10 on Wednesday, reaching $232.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,349,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,183,052. The stock has a market cap of $167.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $223.53 and its 200 day moving average is $193.22.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. DZ Bank lowered American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.24.

American Express 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.