Smith Group Asset Management LLC Buys 2,039 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,225 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,039 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 2.7% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $36,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $317.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $223.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $303.60 and a 200-day moving average of $276.27. American Express has a one year low of $199.07 and a one year high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 15.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. American Express’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Express from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.50.

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.