American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,151,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $886,000. Bravias Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $284,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,899 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,157,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 2,484 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.38.

American Express Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $295.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.39. The company has a market cap of $207.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.