Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,279 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners bought a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 636.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $65,988,000 after purchasing an additional 382,272 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in American Express by 417.3% during the 4th 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. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 327,933 shares of company stock valued at $73,199,843. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP remained flat at $234.66 during midday trading on Wednesday. 503,429 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,157,556. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $168.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 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. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

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.