American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 369,741 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,510 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in American Express were worth $84,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Up 1.4 %

American Express stock traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $231.66. 3,901,131 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,057,715. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $166.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 13 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.