Norden Group LLC Invests $6.42 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 28,169 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,415,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $235.71 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $234.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.31. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $244.41. The company has a market capitalization of $169.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.98 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. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.