Connecticut Wealth Management LLC Buys 158 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,517 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in American Express by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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 target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.71.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $3.26 during trading on Monday, reaching $234.03. 1,206,479 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,187,340. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $224.63 and its 200 day moving average is $194.88. The firm has a market cap of $168.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.