American Express (NYSE:AXP) EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman Sells 3,141 Shares

American Express (NYSE:AXP) EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

American Express Trading Up 1.2 %

American Express stock opened at $239.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $172.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $225.67 and a 200-day moving average of $196.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Institutional Trading of American Express

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. HSBC increased their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

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.