American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Transcend Capital Advisors LLC

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,646,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP stock opened at $238.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $171.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.