Aviance Capital Partners LLC Grows Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,391 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIC Wealth LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 62.5% in the 1st 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 period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.5 %

AXP stock traded up $1.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $232.79. 350,634 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,035,208. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $244.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.40. The company has a market capitalization of $167.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. 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 issued 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors 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 represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’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 owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’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 owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AXP. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

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.