Zhang Financial LLC Increases Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,379 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its stake in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter worth $2,460,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1.0% in the third quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 23,987 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,579,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

American Express Trading Up 6.2 %

AXP opened at $231.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $167.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $220.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.35. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $231.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 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 return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 24.98%.

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.