Schear Investment Advisers LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 170.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,118 shares of the payment services company's stock after buying an additional 1,334 shares during the quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of American Express by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. GHE LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $5,052,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,409 shares of the payment services company's stock worth $1,012,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. Finally, Renasant Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.4%

AXP traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $311.86. 2,920,972 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,843,979. The firm's fifty day moving average is $302.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.77. American Express Company has a 1-year low of $220.43 and a 1-year high of $329.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market cap of $218.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Express from $260.00 to $342.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays upped their target price on American Express from $249.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $327.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $307.68.

American Express 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.