Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Has $37.91 Million Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lessened its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,716 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 3,003 shares during the quarter. American Express comprises approximately 3.0% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in American Express were worth $37,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,104,735,000 after buying an additional 86,100 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 8.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after buying an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 5.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,606,986 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,249,415,000 after buying an additional 239,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after buying an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Compass Point lowered their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This trade represents a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $273.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $305.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $287.87.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

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.