Accel Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Accel Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 21.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,741 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the quarter. Accel Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of American Express by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $909,575,000 after acquiring an additional 496,153 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after acquiring an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of American Express by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after acquiring an additional 919,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 2,067,858 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $387,392,000 after acquiring an additional 142,763 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $235.71 on Friday. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $234.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.43.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.