American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,839,276 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 667,695 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $713,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AXP. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its stake in American Express by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AXP traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $234.62. 2,084,289 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,188,171. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $240.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $168.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $225.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.14.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 32.46% and a net margin of 14.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 327,933 shares of company stock worth $73,199,843. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AXP. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC upped their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $253.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.71.

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.