Welch & Forbes LLC Raises Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Welch & Forbes LLC raised its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,872 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $26,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,104,735,000 after acquiring an additional 86,100 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after acquiring an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after acquiring an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after acquiring an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

AXP opened at $275.32 on Friday. American Express has a 12-month low of $214.51 and a 12-month high of $326.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $306.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.50. The company has a market capitalization of $193.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 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, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AXP. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.