EP Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,641 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 5,253 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $7,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $832,000. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $5,638,000 after acquiring an additional 2,826 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This represents 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, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AXP. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. BTIG Research decreased their target price on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.05.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $276.26 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.82. American Express has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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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