Talbot Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 900 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Talbot Financial LLC acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 900 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its holdings in American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $2.26 on Monday, reaching $233.81. 2,792,643 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,055,595. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $244.41. The firm has a market cap of $168.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $234.69 and a 200-day moving average of $216.40.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.