Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $8.83 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,125 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 11,796 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $8,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 417.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in American Express by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 1.1 %

AXP traded down $2.59 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $234.66. 2,924,806 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,074,729. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $168.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.61.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $215.50.

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.