Allstate Corp Takes $5.02 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 16,925 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,023,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,483,512 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 86,100 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Express by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,761,336 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $2,600,277,000 after buying an additional 95,927 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Express in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,785,867,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,960,842 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,074,168,000 after buying an additional 33,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Express by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,434 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,151,080,000 after acquiring an additional 14,282 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In related news, Director Michael J. Angelakis bought 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $269.89 per share, with a total value of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $998,593. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was 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.

American Express Trading Down 2.5 %

AXP opened at $265.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $186.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $295.02 and a 200-day moving average of $289.13. American Express has a 52 week low of $214.51 and a 52 week high of $326.28. 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 (NYSE:AXP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 predict that American Express will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. American Express’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AXP. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of American Express from $326.00 to $325.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on American Express from $283.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

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.