InterOcean Capital Group LLC Raises Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

InterOcean Capital Group LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,249 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 577 shares during the quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock traded up $3.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $239.37. 379,503 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,070,765. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $230.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.33. The firm has a market cap of $172.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About American Express

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.