Vestor Capital LLC Has $140,000 Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Vestor Capital LLC boosted its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 121.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 745 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the quarter. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA lifted its stake in American Express by 134.8% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of American Express from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 316,691 shares of company stock valued at $70,856,898 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $2.90 on Thursday, reaching $239.14. 3,161,222 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,180,305. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $225.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.42. The company has a market capitalization of $172.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

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.