Truvestments Capital LLC Acquires 129 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,094 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of American Express by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $909,575,000 after acquiring an additional 496,153 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 21.1% in 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 in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in American Express by 8.2% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,595,370 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $590,940,000 after acquiring an additional 195,876 shares during the period. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its stake in American Express by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 2,067,858 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $387,392,000 after purchasing an additional 142,763 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $5.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $245.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,174,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,695,599. The stock has a market cap of $174.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $253.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $236.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.17 EPS 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 $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.