BTC Capital Management Inc. Invests $313,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,376 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.9% in the first quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 3,064 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $230.38 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $233.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.95. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AXP. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of American Express 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 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 sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Company 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.