American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Summit Trail Advisors LLC

Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,746 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 414 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the 4th 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 during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:AXP traded up $3.52 on Monday, hitting $234.29. 2,259,187 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,200,852. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $224.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.88.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 321,200 shares of company stock worth $71,640,500 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.