Grimes & Company Inc. Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,160 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $11,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of 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 worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently 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 on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on 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 $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP traded up $3.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $231.55. The stock had a trading volume of 3,901,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,820,091. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $234.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.11. The company has a market capitalization of $166.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is a boost 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

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.