Lincoln National Corp Has $2.50 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Lincoln National Corp boosted its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,317 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners acquired a new position in American Express during the third quarter worth approximately $210,540,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 1,313.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 768,769 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,440,210,000 after acquiring an additional 714,370 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at $73,906,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 636.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $65,988,000 after purchasing an additional 382,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in American Express by 417.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 415,696 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $77,876,000 after purchasing an additional 335,338 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of American Express stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.62. The company had a trading volume of 2,084,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,188,171. The firm has a market cap of $168.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $224.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $240.55.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.99 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AXP. HSBC raised their target price on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Express from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen increased their target price on American Express from $221.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Express from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.71.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total transaction of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,874 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 110,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 324,792 shares of company stock valued at $72,470,000 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.