FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Buys 485 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,028 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. American Express makes up 1.7% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AXP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,112,747,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after buying an additional 919,337 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in American Express by 1,313.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in American Express by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $713,202,000 after buying an additional 667,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in American Express by 969.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $112,910,000 after acquiring an additional 546,389 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AXP traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.32. 475,614 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,035,120. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $244.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.40.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that American Express will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase 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 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC increased their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express presently has an average 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.