CAP Partners LLC Buys New Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

CAP Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 927 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in American Express by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in American Express by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $2.16 on Tuesday, reaching $235.97. The stock had a trading volume of 1,861,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,046,119. The stock has a market cap of $169.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. 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 quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly 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 firm 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

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.