American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,877 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 62.5% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought 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 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $238.63. 2,606,086 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,999,513. 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 market cap of $171.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $234.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.28.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.50.

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.