LRI Investments LLC Makes New Investment in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 734 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 417.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,460,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 35.6% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 9,806 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at $59,948.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Anna Marrs sold 3,592 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.93, for a total value of $829,500.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,932 shares in the company, valued at $4,602,896.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinn Jessica Lieberman sold 3,141 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.36, for a total transaction of $729,842.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,948.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. HSBC increased their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of American Express from $247.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.70.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of American Express stock traded up $5.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $245.89. 2,174,459 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,695,599. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.92. American Express has a 52-week low of $140.91 and a 52-week high of $253.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.21.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.60 billion. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that American Express will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.06%.

American Express 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.