Transcendent Capital Group LLC Invests $37,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 200 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD lifted its holdings in American Express by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,580 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $858,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $2.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $224.82. 2,373,907 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,530,229. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.22. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $232.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.91.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Insiders own 0.12% 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.