Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 56.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,702 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 2,423 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $1,112,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 1st quarter worth $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $449,521,000 after acquiring an additional 919,337 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1,313.2% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,440,210,000 after buying an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Express by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after buying an additional 667,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Express

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 stock was sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total value of $9,276,263.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, 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 value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,209,855.30. 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 three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of American Express stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $238.63. 2,612,283 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,356,622. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $234.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.65. 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 company has a market cap of $171.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $244.41.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. 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 is 23.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Friday, April 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.50.

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.