Chapin Davis Inc. Acquires 126 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Chapin Davis Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,052 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Chapin Davis Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in American Express by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Citigroup started coverage on American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

American Express Stock Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $233.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.22. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two 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.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s revenue for the quarter 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.