Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Raises Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 2,693.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,852 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,497 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $7,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,153,000. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Express by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,891 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Express by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 95,838 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $17,954,000 after buying an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of American Express by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 18,778 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $3,518,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Up 5.6 %

Shares of AXP traded up $12.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $229.61. 4,232,976 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,088,052. American Express has a 1 year low of $140.91 and a 1 year high of $231.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $219.68 and its 200-day moving average is $187.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.79 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors 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 yield of 0.17%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC upped their target price on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird cut American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Express from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Express from $157.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

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.