WBI Investments LLC Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,873 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,112,747,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in American Express by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after buying an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in American Express by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 887,649 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $166,292,000 after purchasing an additional 392,269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $239.29. 928,623 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,074,314. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $229.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The business 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 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four research 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.