Financial Management Professionals Inc. Grows Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 769 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $175,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $1,112,747,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position 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 worth $909,575,000 after acquiring an additional 496,153 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in American Express by 21.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 667,695 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in American Express by 62.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 919,337 shares during the period. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its position in American Express by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 2,067,858 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $387,392,000 after acquiring an additional 142,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

AXP stock opened at $231.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $166.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $234.69 and its 200 day moving average is $216.11.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

American Express 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.