SMART Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 4,025 American Express Company (NYSE:AXP)

SMART Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,025 shares of the payment services company's stock, valued at approximately $1,083,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $244.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. BTIG Research dropped their price objective on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, April 21st. Argus cut American Express from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $295.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm'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 owned 10,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. The trade was a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $328.36. 1,541,782 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,843,582. The stock has a market cap of $230.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express Company has a 52 week low of $220.43 and a 52 week high of $329.14. The firm's fifty day moving average is $294.35 and its 200-day moving average is $289.65.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Investors 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 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. American Express's payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

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.