Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Raises Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,694 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 4,608 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $14,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,112,747,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at approximately $433,709,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Express by 21.1% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total value of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total transaction of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,844 shares of company stock valued at $32,404,735 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Performance

American Express stock opened at $252.46 on Wednesday. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $253.73. The company has a market capitalization of $179.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $236.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.13.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.24 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Express has a consensus 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.