Wynn Capital LLC Invests $2.68 Million in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Wynn Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 14,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,000. American Express accounts for approximately 2.2% of Wynn Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AXP. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in American Express by 0.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,037,387,000 after buying an additional 41,443 shares during the period. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd increased its holdings in American Express by 1.9% during the third quarter. Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK Ltd now owns 3,572,743 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $533,018,000 after buying an additional 67,575 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in American Express by 6.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,800,045 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $268,549,000 after buying an additional 102,977 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in American Express by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,574,663 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $294,856,000 after buying an additional 102,132 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in American Express by 1.5% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,480,157 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $220,825,000 after buying an additional 21,876 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.52.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AXP traded up $0.27 on Wednesday, hitting $239.23. The stock had a trading volume of 4,427,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,196,399. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $172.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $221.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.19. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. American Express’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.