Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,016 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $1,112,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in American Express in the first quarter worth about $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after purchasing an additional 919,337 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after purchasing an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of AXP stock traded down $3.61 on Wednesday, reaching $243.29. 1,414,540 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,006,158. The company has a market capitalization of $172.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $253.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $236.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.03.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express 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 directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were 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 directly 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 this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 138,844 shares of company stock valued at $32,404,735. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

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.