Taika Capital LP Invests $377,000 in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Taika Capital LP bought a new position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,270 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 332.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 108 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in American Express during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Express Stock Performance

Shares of AXP stock opened at $273.13 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $191.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $305.44 and its 200 day moving average is $288.17. 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 has a 52-week low of $214.51 and a 52-week high of $326.27.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 32.65%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,492.04. The trade was a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total value of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at $4,308,795. The trade was a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.38.

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.