American Express (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Raised by Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 39.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,444 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP traded up $2.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $247.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,014,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,009,412. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.20. The firm has a market cap of $176.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $253.73.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,844 shares of company stock valued at $32,404,735 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Citigroup assumed coverage on American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Barclays increased their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.70.

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.