Aspiriant LLC Grows Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Aspiriant LLC increased its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 45.5% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 326 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of American Express by 12.3% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 61,698 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $14,048,000 after purchasing an additional 6,756 shares in the last quarter. Benin Management CORP increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.2% in the first quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 4,254 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 37.2% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,943 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.0 %

AXP stock opened at $228.41 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $234.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $244.41. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued 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 1.23%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

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.