Summit Trail Advisors LLC Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,746 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its position in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP traded up $3.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $234.29. 2,259,187 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,200,852. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $224.63 and its 200-day moving average is $194.88. The company has a market capitalization of $168.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’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 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.10 dividend. 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 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 321,200 shares of company stock worth $71,640,500. Insiders own 0.11% 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.