American Express (NYSE:AXP) Holdings Raised by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,891 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 435 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. RB Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Express by 5.3% in the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 3,783 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 27,029 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $5,054,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in American Express by 5.6% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,421 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in American Express by 207.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 946 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter valued at about $397,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Monique Herena sold 11,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.41, for a total value of $2,342,945.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,480.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AXP. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Stephens raised shares of American Express from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

American Express Trading Up 3.9 %

NYSE:AXP traded up $8.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $226.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,954,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,056,516. American Express has a 52 week low of $140.91 and a 52 week high of $231.69. The company has a market capitalization of $163.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $219.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid 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 currently 24.98%.

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.