CAP Partners LLC Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

CAP Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 927 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its position in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AXP. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

American Express Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.16 on Tuesday, reaching $235.97. 1,861,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,046,119. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41. The company has a market capitalization of $169.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $234.71 and a 200 day moving average of $216.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company 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.