Accel Wealth Management Acquires 303 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Accel Wealth Management boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,741 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the quarter. Accel Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 62.5% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following 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 sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $235.71 on Friday. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 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. The company has a market capitalization of $169.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $217.43.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.