Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 26,548 Shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 104.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,033 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,548 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $13,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new position in American Express during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company's stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE AXP opened at $311.75 on Friday. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $326.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $287.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.25.

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

American Express Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was 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 $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of American Express from $367.00 to $330.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America raised shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of American Express from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Baird R W raised American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.05.

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.

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