Chapman Financial Group LLC Invests $917,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,090 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE AXP traded up $7.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $284.03. 3,415,643 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,832,196. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The business's 50-day moving average is $263.38 and its 200-day moving average is $286.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is an increase from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.91%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $295.05.

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.