Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 1,495 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,144 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in American Express were worth $11,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,785,867,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in American Express by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,986,710 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $886,426,000 after buying an additional 1,943,463 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,021,873 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $600,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,747 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $292,081,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC lifted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. BTIG Research reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Argus lowered shares of American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

American Express Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $277.11 on Monday. The company 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 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $220.43 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $264.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $286.96.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

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.

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