Sfmg LLC Acquires New Holdings in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Sfmg LLC acquired a new stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,222 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $300,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the 4th quarter worth about $292,081,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,984,208,000 after purchasing an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after purchasing an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE AXP opened at $270.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $298.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $288.31. American Express has a one year low of $214.51 and a one year high of $326.28. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised shares of American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $303.52.

Insider Activity

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