Breed s Hill Capital LLC Invests $210,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Breed s Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,123 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA increased its stake in American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 316,691 shares of company stock worth $70,856,898. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of AXP stock traded up $2.90 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $239.14. The stock had a trading volume of 3,161,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,180,305. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $225.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.42. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXP. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.71.

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.