American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Purchased by Apexium Financial LP

Apexium Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 113.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,268 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in American Express were worth $673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the third quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in American Express by 332.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,952,286.84. This trade represents a 48.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.98, for a total transaction of $3,552,818.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. The trade was a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.5 %

American Express stock opened at $320.87 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $302.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. American Express has a twelve month low of $186.43 and a twelve month high of $326.27. The firm has a market cap of $226.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AXP. HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on American Express from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $281.00.

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.