Breed s Hill Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 1,123 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Breed s Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,123 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Express by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,352 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,976 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc lifted its stake in American Express by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 14,028 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in American Express by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,022,817 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,615,000 after purchasing an additional 20,518 shares during the period. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $2.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $239.14. 3,161,222 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,180,305. The company has a market cap of $172.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 316,691 shares of company stock worth $70,856,898. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC raised their price target on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.