Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Grows Stock Position in American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

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Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,542 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA's holdings in American Express were worth $2,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $10.7930 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $318.9630. The company had a trading volume of 2,784,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,924,702. The company has a market capitalization of $221.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. American Express Company has a 12-month low of $220.43 and a 12-month high of $329.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $307.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 32.87%. American Express's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.77, for a total value of $1,709,235.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,312,049.47. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.50, for a total transaction of $15,475,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,957 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,191.50. This trade represents a 82.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 134,219 shares of company stock valued at $40,555,901 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $327.00 target price on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $311.05.

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.