American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Aspiriant LLC

Aspiriant LLC raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.3% in 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express by 5.5% in the fourth 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 boosted its holdings in American Express by 417.3% in the fourth 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. acquired a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in American Express by 35.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $228.41 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $164.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.26. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. 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 1.23%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC upped their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was 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 $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s 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 approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.