SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Acquires 79 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in American Express during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 1.9 %

AXP opened at $275.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $292.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.76.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC increased their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $302.57.

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.