American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 698,087 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,060 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.10% of American Express worth $130,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $366,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 269,563 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $50,500,000 after buying an additional 41,892 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its stake in shares of American Express by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 144,808 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $27,128,000 after buying an additional 11,838 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of American Express by 1,750.3% during the 4th quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 22,611 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after buying an additional 21,389 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2,779.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 93,710 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $17,556,000 after buying an additional 90,456 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $232.67 on Friday. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $167.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $232.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.44.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. American Express’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.01 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $215.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares in the company, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999. Corporate 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.