American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Acquired by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 72.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,450 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 610 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in American Express were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in American Express by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 135,483 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $25,382,000 after purchasing an additional 9,224 shares during the last quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its position in American Express by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 825 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. KLCM Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Scissortail Wealth Management LLC raised its position in American Express by 51.3% in the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AXP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. Stephens upgraded shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up previously from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $201.62.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $1.55 on Thursday, reaching $219.22. 259,847 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,025,138. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $140.91 and a fifty-two week high of $231.69. The business’s 50-day moving average is $219.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

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

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Company 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.