Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Acquires 106 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,487 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIC Wealth LLC raised its position in American Express by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in 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 period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Express by 62.5% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Coast Financial LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 3,925 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related 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 value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

American Express Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of AXP stock opened at $228.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $234.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.26. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $244.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.