Empirical Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP - Free Report) by 405.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,983 shares of the payment services company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,426 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in American Express were worth $5,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Express during the third quarter worth about $46,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $252.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point upped their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on American Express from $325.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on American Express from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $278.09.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total value of $1,820,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. This represents a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Anre D. Williams sold 77,887 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.26, for a total value of $21,049,740.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 111,656 shares in the company, valued at $30,176,150.56. This trade represents a 41.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 96,998 shares of company stock valued at $26,423,439. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

American Express Stock Up 0.4 %

AXP traded up $1.27 on Friday, hitting $312.75. 2,180,554 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,331,332. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $298.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Express has a twelve month low of $177.81 and a twelve month high of $315.40. The company has a market cap of $220.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $16.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.68 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Express will post 13.48 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. American Express's payout ratio is 20.60%.

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.