Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 7,325 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD increased its stake in shares of American Express by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 4,580 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

American Express stock traded up $2.71 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $238.17. 1,624,182 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,083,569. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average is $230.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $244.41.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13.01 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

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.