American Express (NYSE:AXP) Position Increased by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,279 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in American Express by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,786 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,646,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 327,933 shares of company stock worth $73,199,843 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock remained flat at $234.66 on Wednesday. The stock had a trading volume of 503,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,157,556. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $225.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $168.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

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.