Claro Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,517 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in American Express by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $909,575,000 after purchasing an additional 496,153 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in American Express by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of American Express by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after buying an additional 919,337 shares during the period. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 2,067,858 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $387,392,000 after buying an additional 142,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of American Express 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 transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AXP. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BTIG Research began coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

American Express Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $233.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $234.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.40. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

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.