HC Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

HC Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 935 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Express by 36,719.1% in the fourth 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 period. FMR LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 866,110 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $86,002,000 after acquiring an additional 316,219 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of American Express by 73.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $191,842,000 after acquiring an additional 300,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of American Express by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,203,772 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $655,137,000 after acquiring an additional 247,864 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $294.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $206.61 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.24. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $214.51 and a fifty-two week high of $326.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $307.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.99.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 19.99%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AXP shares. Compass Point decreased their price target on American Express from $325.00 to $309.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.