American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Howard Financial Services LTD.

Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 38.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,507 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in American Express were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter worth $200,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in American Express by 156.2% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 52,957 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $12,262,000 after acquiring an additional 32,287 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,301 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in American Express by 13.3% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 27,929 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $6,467,000 after acquiring an additional 3,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 26,607 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $312.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $220.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a 12-month low of $177.81 and a 12-month high of $315.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $298.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $271.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $278.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total transaction of $21,049,740.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 13,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 owns 109,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,724,067.18. This trade represents a 10.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,998 shares of company stock worth $26,423,439 in the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.