Benjamin Edwards Inc. Buys 6,794 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 782.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,662 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,794 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its stake in American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $232.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,287,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,194,418. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $223.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.49. The company has a market cap of $167.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

American Express 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.