American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 25.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,171,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after buying an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter worth about $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in American Express by 35.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Up 0.3 %

American Express stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $235.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,488,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,520,332. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $234.55 and its 200-day moving average is $217.80. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 in the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AXP. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

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.