OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Grows Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,463 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,324 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in American Express were worth $7,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total transaction of $2,603,475.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective 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 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $295.05.

American Express Trading Down 0.0%

American Express stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $299.48. The stock had a trading volume of 2,958,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,838,859. The stock has a market cap of $209.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.23. American Express 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 current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.02.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

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

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.