Connecticut Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,517 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA boosted its position in shares of American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

AXP traded up $3.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $234.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,206,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,187,340. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55. The stock has a market cap of $168.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average is $224.63 and its 200-day moving average is $194.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.