O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Grows Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 33.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,318 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,520 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $12,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total transaction of $829,500.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE AXP traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $246.77. 2,563,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,017,842. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $236.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $253.73. The stock has a market cap of $177.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.94% and a net margin of 15.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on American Express from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Compass Point started coverage on American Express in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

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.