Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 52.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 693,258 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 238,955 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.10% of American Express worth $129,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $231.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $166.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $223.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.49.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business 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 $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. DZ Bank cut American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

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.