E&G Advisors LP Boosts Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

E&G Advisors LP lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,350 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. E&G Advisors LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,112,747,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of American Express by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after purchasing an additional 919,337 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 1,313.2% during 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in American Express by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after acquiring an additional 667,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in American Express by 969.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $112,910,000 after acquiring an additional 546,389 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $235.53. 1,365,850 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,032,968. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $234.65 and its 200-day moving average is $217.18. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $244.41. The stock has a market cap of $169.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC upped their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BTIG Research started coverage on American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.