American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 552,517 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 7,493 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of American Express worth $163,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $3,484,312,000 after acquiring an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after purchasing an additional 95,927 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in American Express by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,151,080,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 3.2 %

AXP stock opened at $277.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $194.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $264.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.95. American Express has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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