Boston Financial Mangement LLC Has $1.19 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,007 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $1,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Express in the 4th quarter valued at about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 430.6% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,765 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 86,344 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,626,000 after buying an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,982 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,638,000 after buying an additional 2,826 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Caillec Christophe Le sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.48, for a total transaction of $1,820,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,952,286.84. The trade was a 48.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,664 shares of company stock worth $9,613,503. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE AXP opened at $304.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. American Express has a 52 week low of $209.10 and a 52 week high of $326.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $307.68 and its 200 day moving average is $283.79. The company has a market cap of $213.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.24.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AXP shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Compass Point reduced their target price on shares of American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.