American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,299 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised 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 period. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in American Express by 5.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 417.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after acquiring an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price 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. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

American Express Stock Up 1.4 %

AXP stock traded up $3.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $231.55. 3,901,233 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,820,091. The company has a market capitalization of $166.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $244.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.79.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total transaction of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at $3,957,361.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.