Everence Capital Management Inc. Has $3.42 Million Stock Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,254 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 6,060 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.2% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. DZ Bank downgraded American Express from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.62.

American Express Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $218.34. 4,066,531 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,074,123. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $219.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.88. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $231.69.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 24.98%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock worth $36,528,388 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.