Personal CFO Solutions LLC Raises Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,355 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the quarter. American Express accounts for about 0.7% of Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $3,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AXP. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009,042 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $292,081,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 8.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,003,715 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,984,208,000 after acquiring an additional 866,110 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after acquiring an additional 316,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in American Express by 73.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 300,138 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total value of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Express Price Performance

NYSE:AXP opened at $273.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $191.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $305.44 and a 200 day moving average of $287.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.58.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, research analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AXP. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. HSBC increased their price objective on American Express from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on American Express from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.