Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,347 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIC Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $231.55 on Monday. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. 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 stock has a market cap of $166.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 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 $216.40.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.70 dividend. 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 yield of 1.21%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.