Townsend & Associates Inc Acquires 68 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Townsend & Associates Inc increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,028 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AXP. National Pension Service grew its position in American Express by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,022,817 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,615,000 after purchasing an additional 20,518 shares in the last quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. RMR Wealth Builders raised its stake in shares of American Express by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 6,206 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $224,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:AXP traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $237.92. 1,210,492 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,157,722. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value 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 approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.