Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 8,204 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 26.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,204 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter worth approximately $756,000. Mirova lifted its holdings in American Express by 33.8% during the first quarter. Mirova now owns 40,997 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $9,335,000 after buying an additional 10,354 shares during the period. Goepper Burkhardt LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in American Express by 1,645.0% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 87,147 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $19,842,000 after acquiring an additional 82,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 138,844 shares of company stock valued at $32,404,735 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on American Express from $247.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.70.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $240.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,825,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,016,572. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $236.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $253.73.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 13.36 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.