GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Buys 134 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA grew its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,203 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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 fourth quarter worth about $832,000. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position 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. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in shares of American Express by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 349,937 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $103,858,000 after buying an additional 12,364 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position 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, Edge Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 6,451 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Express news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective 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, Compass Point decreased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $299.24.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $266.04 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $301.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $288.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $186.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. Equities 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 a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is 23.41%.

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.