American Express (NYSE:AXP) Position Raised by DecisionPoint Financial LLC

DecisionPoint Financial LLC grew its position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 200.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 825 shares of the payment services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $154,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,244 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of American Express by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,894 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in American Express by 1.2% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Express by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 23,211 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $4,349,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC increased its stake in American Express by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 4,181 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

American Express Trading Down 0.0 %

AXP stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $218.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,283,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,050,213. The firm has a market cap of $157.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.23. American Express has a twelve month low of $140.91 and a twelve month high of $231.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.37.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a return on equity of 30.99% and a net margin of 13.84%. The business had revenue of $15.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Express will post 12.83 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 24.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AXP shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on American Express from $214.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. HSBC increased their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised shares of American Express from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Express presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.62.

Insider Activity

In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total transaction of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,512 shares in the company, valued at $12,248,905.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388 in the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About American Express

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.