United Asset Strategies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,443 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after buying an additional 13,720,460 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,503,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,847,452,000 after purchasing an additional 35,760 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after purchasing an additional 41,443 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $911,554,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,802,341 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $857,293,000 after purchasing an additional 405,975 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AXP. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.62.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $218.40 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $219.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.98%.

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.