Natural Investments LLC Takes $2.38 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,011 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,377,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in American Express in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 4.4 %

NYSE AXP opened at $261.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market cap of $183.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $304.72 and its 200-day moving average is $288.26. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.27.

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

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.38.

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.