Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Invests $215,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,150 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA raised its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 203,891 shares of company stock worth $44,373,196. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.1 %

American Express stock opened at $231.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $166.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $223.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.49. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted 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 note on Wednesday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

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.