American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC

Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,933 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 710 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for approximately 6.2% of Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Bradley & Co. Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $6,732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC now owns 23,158 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,338,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at about $529,000. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,515 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in American Express by 68.0% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 2,100 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 11,667 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE AXP traded down $2.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $237.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,327,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,198,073. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $240.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $222.11 and its 200-day moving average is $190.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a market cap of $170.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. 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 research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird downgraded American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 210,920 shares of company stock valued at $45,804,652. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Express Company 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.