Carret Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 58,124 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the quarter. American Express makes up about 1.4% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $10,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 636.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $65,988,000 after purchasing an additional 382,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Stephens upgraded American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.52.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $239.23. 4,427,638 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,196,399. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $221.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.19. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $15.80 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 in the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.