American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Golden State Wealth Management LLC

Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 121.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,681 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,758 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in American Express by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of American Express by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,633 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $835,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHE LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 17,021 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,052,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,590,251. This represents a 50.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total transaction of $799,008.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,919 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,822.54. This represents a 21.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP opened at $308.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $285.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.70. American Express Company has a twelve month low of $220.43 and a twelve month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $16.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.04 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.48% and a net margin of 15.31%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Express Company will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $274.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Argus downgraded American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, BTIG Research lowered their target price on American Express from $272.00 to $240.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.05.

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.