Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 61 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,584 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its stake in American Express by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AXP. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $238.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $223.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.