Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,321 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 906 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its stake in shares of American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AXP opened at $239.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

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.