Monument Capital Management Takes Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Monument Capital Management acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 966 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $1,112,747,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 919,337 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 667,695 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in American Express by 969.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $112,910,000 after acquiring an additional 546,389 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of American Express stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value 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 sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $235.53 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $234.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.18. 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 stock has a market cap of $169.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid 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 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on American Express in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

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.