Bailard Inc. Buys 378 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,667 shares of the payment services company’s stock after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $2,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in American Express by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,778 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 58,124 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $10,889,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $2,682,000. Bfsg LLC increased its position in American Express by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 21,124 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $3,957,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fountainhead AM LLC purchased a new stake in American Express in the fourth quarter worth about $224,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Express Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXP traded down $0.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $236.22. 650,311 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,165,225. American Express has a 12-month low of $140.91 and a 12-month high of $240.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $222.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.85. The company has a market cap of $169.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The payment services company reported $3.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.36. American Express had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 32.46%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that American Express will post 12.99 EPS for the current year.

American Express Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. American Express’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AXP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered American Express from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. HSBC raised their price objective on American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $221.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of American Express in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Laureen Seeger sold 84,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.98, for a total value of $17,979,771.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,248,905.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 210,920 shares of company stock worth $45,804,652. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.