Waverly Advisors LLC Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,296 shares of the payment services company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $12,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752,084 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $3,484,312,000 after buying an additional 268,572 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of American Express by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,825,135 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $2,025,632,000 after buying an additional 955,811 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,785,867,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of American Express by 463.3% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,357,487 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $1,293,259,000 after buying an additional 3,583,959 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $299.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $209.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.43.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is a boost from American Express's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. American Express's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Baird R W upgraded American Express from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut American Express from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $295.05.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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