Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,559 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $1,112,747,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 62.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,399,494 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $449,521,000 after purchasing an additional 919,337 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 714,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Express by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $713,202,000 after acquiring an additional 667,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in American Express by 969.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 602,726 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $112,910,000 after acquiring an additional 546,389 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AXP. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.30.

American Express Price Performance

AXP traded down $0.26 on Thursday, reaching $235.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,365,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,733,787. The company has a fifty day moving average of $234.58 and a 200-day moving average of $217.31. The company has a market capitalization of $169.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. American Express has a one year low of $140.91 and a one year high of $244.41.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 38,873 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.63, for a total transaction of $9,276,263.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 76,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,209,855.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,717 shares of company stock worth $41,680,999 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Express 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.