Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Increases Stock Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 raised its stake in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,277 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in American Express were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 1.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,320,053 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $5,281,753,000 after buying an additional 507,042 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 118,198.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,732,068 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,028,913,000 after buying an additional 13,720,460 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,503,902 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,847,452,000 after buying an additional 35,760 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 0.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,953,460 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,037,387,000 after buying an additional 41,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $911,554,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded up $1.38 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $225.84. 264,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,141,380. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $231.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $210.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.84.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16 billion. American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. American Express’s payout ratio is 21.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXP has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of American Express from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $212.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of American Express from $186.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of American Express in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other American Express news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $14,774,215.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.