Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Buys 199 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,976 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AXP. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Gratus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 1.7% during the third quarter. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,223 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,255,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in American Express by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,480,157 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $220,825,000 after acquiring an additional 21,876 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,108,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction 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 $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 327,933 shares of company stock valued at $73,199,843. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AXP traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $236.09. 2,501,199 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,180,452. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.14. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC boosted their price target on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.