US Asset Management LLC Makes New $657,000 Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

US Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,505 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $657,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AXP traded up $1.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $241.04. 1,073,821 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,156,505. The company has a market capitalization of $173.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $226.07 and a 200 day moving average of $196.71. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $243.54.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898 in the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. UBS Group increased their target price on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

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.