150 Shares in American Express (NYSE:AXP) Purchased by Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners

Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 150 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA grew its position in American Express by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA now owns 155 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Express during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of American Express stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE AXP opened at $239.23 on Thursday. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $240.55. The stock has a market cap of $172.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $221.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 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 last year, the business earned $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AXP. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

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.