American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Forte Capital LLC ADV

Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,305 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in American Express were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 0.3% during the 4th 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. boosted its position in American Express by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after acquiring an additional 335,338 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in American Express by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 203,891 shares of company stock valued at $44,373,196 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

American Express Stock Down 0.7 %

AXP stock traded down $1.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $230.77. The stock had a trading volume of 3,203,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,577,762. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $224.63 and a 200 day moving average of $194.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.