Golden State Equity Partners Has $409,000 Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Golden State Equity Partners lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,182 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in American Express were worth $409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased 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 buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

American Express Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $235.64 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $222.57 and a 200-day moving average of $191.74. The company has a market capitalization of $169.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.63 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.