Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $181.83 Million Stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 612,534 shares of the payment services company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,938 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of American Express worth $181,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Express by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,979 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in American Express in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,679,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter worth about $442,000. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Express by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 85,001 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $25,227,000 after purchasing an additional 12,436 shares during the period. Finally, Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Express in the fourth quarter worth $1,143,000. Institutional investors own 84.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AXP shares. Baird R W raised American Express from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Express in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on American Express from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Express from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Express from $301.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $302.24.

American Express Trading Down 5.8 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $233.50 on Friday. American Express has a 12 month low of $214.51 and a 12 month high of $326.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $288.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.28. The stock has a market cap of $164.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.16.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The payment services company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.04. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities analysts predict that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Raymond Joabar sold 15,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.94, for a total transaction of $4,765,295.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,492.04. This represents a 38.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Angelakis purchased 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $269.89 per share, for a total transaction of $998,593.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,593. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

American Express 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.