Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 14,282 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.55% of American Express worth $1,151,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $216,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,905 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 204,358 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $55,422,000 after purchasing an additional 30,743 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP opened at $295.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $207.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $307.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.39. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

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.