Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,321 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 906 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its holdings in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AXP shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $239.23 on Thursday. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $172.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $221.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.53.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.98 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.