American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by RMR Wealth Builders

RMR Wealth Builders raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,206 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders’ holdings in American Express were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $224,000. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $290,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $235,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $236.50 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $170.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.14. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 316,691 shares of company stock worth $70,856,898 in the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

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.