Certified Advisory Corp Acquires Shares of 1,253 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Certified Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,253 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after buying an additional 41,443 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,112,747,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after acquiring an additional 667,695 shares during the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. boosted its stake in American Express by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 2,067,858 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $387,392,000 after acquiring an additional 142,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in American Express by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,045 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $268,549,000 after acquiring an additional 102,977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised 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. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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. Insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded down $2.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $237.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 277,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,066,957. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $229.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.10. The firm has a market cap of $171.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results 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. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.