Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Grows Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,625 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in American Express were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AXP. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 32.6% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 10.6% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 37,581 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,607,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.7% in the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,967 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $233,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

American Express Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $231.66 on Friday. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 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 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 is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. 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 0.12% 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.