American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Davis R M Inc.

Davis R M Inc. lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,862 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in American Express by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 64,192 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,026,000 after purchasing an additional 4,194 shares during the period. Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $235,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its stake in American Express by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,073 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $119,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 52,567 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $9,848,000 after purchasing an additional 5,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’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 value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded down $2.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $237.96. 364,440 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,068,233. The company has a market cap of $171.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.10. 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 twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

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.