Moment Partners LLC Takes $1.19 Million Position in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Moment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,004 shares of the payment services company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,000. American Express accounts for approximately 0.2% of Moment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Express by 36,719.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,011,790 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $300,289,000 after buying an additional 1,009,042 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $292,081,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Express by 35,213.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the payment services company’s stock valued at $86,002,000 after acquiring an additional 316,219 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in American Express by 73.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 707,381 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $191,842,000 after purchasing an additional 300,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in American Express by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,517,668 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $450,429,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Director Michael J. Angelakis acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at $998,593. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ravikumar Radhakrishnan sold 9,485 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.17, for a total transaction of $3,027,327.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,308,795. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded American Express from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus cut shares of American Express from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Express from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Express currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.57.

American Express Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of American Express stock opened at $275.99 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $193.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.21. American Express has a 1 year low of $214.51 and a 1 year high of $326.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $296.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. American Express’s payout ratio is currently 23.41%.

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.