SCS Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 11,316 American Express Company $AXP

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC invested $3.04 million in American Express Company, acquiring 11,316 shares of the payment services firm's stock during the first quarter.
• American Express reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.08, surpassing estimates and marking a 9.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.0% for investors.

SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,316 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $3,044,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its stake in American Express by 4.7% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its stake in American Express by 4.8% in the first quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 792 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,661 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in American Express by 2.5% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered shares of American Express from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. DZ Bank lowered shares of American Express from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $277.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $313.45.

American Express Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $3.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $325.48. 2,000,286 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,294,247. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.28. The business's fifty day moving average price is $313.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $332.46.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The payment services company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.22. The company 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 revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. American Express's payout ratio is presently 23.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 20,311 shares in the company, valued at $6,312,049.47. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 61,721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.47, for a total transaction of $18,360,145.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,527.47. The trade was a 87.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 269,996 shares of company stock valued at $85,261,270 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.