B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,952 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $4,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,447,441 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,923,399,000 after purchasing an additional 662,382 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of American Express by 11.4% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in American Express by 8.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 195,876 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

AXP traded up $0.56 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $253.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,167,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,000,453. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $256.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $236.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.13.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The business 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 business posted $2.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on AXP shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research started coverage on American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Compass Point assumed coverage on American Express in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.70.

About American Express

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.