Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 4,689 American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,689 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $878,000. American Express comprises approximately 0.9% of Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of American Express by 0.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 41,443 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in American Express by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 4,855,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $909,575,000 after buying an additional 496,153 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of American Express by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after acquiring an additional 919,337 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $3.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $227.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,352,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,042,445. The stock has a market cap of $163.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $232.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share 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 net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

American Express Company 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.