Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,351 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 270 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at $477,000. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.9% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 13,862 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 2.1% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 8,939 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, JT Stratford LLC increased its holdings in American Express by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 4,319 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 177,717 shares of company stock valued at $41,680,999 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on American Express from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

American Express Stock Down 0.1 %

American Express stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $235.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,365,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,733,787. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $244.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $234.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $217.18. The company has a market capitalization of $169.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.98 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost 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 1.19%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

About American Express

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.